How Often Should Frying Oil Be Changed to Ensure Safety? | Seeking Your Opinions and Insights

I once called the local KFC and asked how often they change the oil. They said around once in a couple of weeks and they don't have a regular schedule for it. I asked ChatGPT about the cancer risk. Just wondering what everyone thinks

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ChatGPT:

If KFC changes their frying oil every two weeks, there could be a higher risk of carcinogen formation due to the extended use of the oil. The likelihood of cancer risk increases with prolonged use of oil because harmful substances like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heterocyclic amines (HCAs), and oxidized lipids accumulate over time, especially with repeated high-temperature frying.

Factors Increasing Cancer Risk with Extended Oil Use:
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): Formed when oil is repeatedly heated and food particles burn. PAHs are known carcinogens.

Heterocyclic Amines (HCAs): Produced when meat is cooked at high temperatures for extended periods. HCAs can damage DNA, leading to cancer.

Oxidized Lipids: Prolonged use of oil leads to oxidation, creating toxic compounds linked to cancer.

Acrylamide: Although more common in starchy foods, high temperatures over long periods can still cause acrylamide formation, a probable human carcinogen.

Measures to Reduce Risk:
Frequent Oil Changes: Ideally, oil should be changed more frequently than every two weeks to minimize the accumulation of harmful substances. In the fast-food industry, best practices often suggest changing oil daily or after a specific number of uses.

Oil Filtration: Regularly filtering oil to remove food particles and impurities can help extend the oil's usable life while reducing the formation of harmful compounds.

Temperature Control: Maintaining optimal frying temperatures and avoiding excessive heat can reduce the formation of carcinogens.

Conclusion:
While KFC likely follows stringent safety protocols, changing oil only every two weeks can still pose a significant health risk. Frequent monitoring and filtering might mitigate some risks, but regular oil replacement is critical for minimizing carcinogen formation.

Comments

                  • +6

                    @mrdean: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00056803.htm#:~:te….

                    https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/ea7684ff-753c-44db-9091-246…

                    WHO on measles
                    "Before the introduction of measles vaccine in 1963 and widespread vaccination, major epidemics occurred approximately every two to three years and caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year.

                    An estimated 136 000 people died from measles in 2022"

                    Vaccination has basically eradicated Small Pox.

                    a short Google search will show the positive benefits that vaccination has had.

                    Maybe you should give it a try. Look at the reputable sites not some random that seems to agree with your biases.

                      • +3

                        @mrdean: I’ve given you sites and the ability for people to do their own Googling. I’ve selected sites that are world authorities on diseases. They have given statistics based on case loads prior to vaccination and those after. I’ve given you a disease that was eradicated by vaccination.

                        The antivaxxers are using the shield of herd immunity to peddle their nonsense. If we ripped down this wall we would see a lot of sick and dead people. I’m sure you have a lot of pseudoscience to try to pretend vaccines don’t work but people just need to do their own research at reputable sites. The answer is obvious if you don’t have an agenda.

                        If vaccines were so bad we would be dying in droves, which we aren’t. However, we are living free from common diseases that have plagued us through centuries. In places where the vaccination stops the disease numbers increase and so does the complications and deaths. I don’t think vaccines are perfect but the alternative is far worse.

          • -4

            @Mad Max: Yeah, it's tragic isn't it.

            • -1

              @mrdean: I am starting to think that it is good.
              Let them have as many boosters as they can get.
              As long as the ones that don't want them are not forced to have them one way or another.

                • +3

                  @mrdean: OK people out there. Please make up your own minds as to which arguments you are willing to accept.

              • +5

                @Mad Max: Go for it mate. As long as you don’t expect medical assistance for diseases that are largely preventable by vaccination. We have a deal?

                • -5

                  @try2bhelpful: Ok. As long as you don't expect any medical assistance for diseases caused by the MRNA Covid 19 vaccine and all the boosters.
                  I am talking about a specific vaccine. You are deliberatelly generalising about all vaccines. Typical deflection and obfuscation.

                  • @Mad Max: Do you think people are being injected with eggs in the flu vaccine.

                  • +3

                    @Mad Max: I’m not deflecting, I’ve always been talking about all vaccinations. However the drop in the death rate from Covid aligned with the vaccination program as well. What we also haven’t seen is mass numbers of people dropping dead who had the Covid vaccinations. However, I’m happy to refer people back to your own comment above for them to make up their own minds. You guys always step over the line in the end.

              • +2

                @Mad Max:

                As long as the ones that don't want them are not forced to have them one way or another.

                Exactly, and if you do come down with any illness, stay away from hospitals and doctors please, stop wasting valuable resources.

          • @Mad Max: Make sure you buy yourself a BioCharger too, only fools wouldn't buy it!

            • -4

              @Ughhh: Go get a booster. You are due for it.

              • @Mad Max: Wait… So is BioCharger good or bad?

                • -4

                  @Ughhh: You are telling the story.
                  Hopefully you got a few of the safe and effective Astra Zeneca vaccines. Those that were withdrawn for safety concerns.
                  The Fizzer ones managed to keep the safety concerns out of the media, for now.
                  I would be very worried if I was you. Good night and sweet dreams.

                  • +5

                    @Mad Max: So how long do you intend to wait expecting a mass die off before admitting you were wrong? As the years go on you guys are going to get more and more pissed off. I suppose if you wait 100 years then all the people who got Covid vaccines will have dropped dead.

                    Me, I sleep well on a bed of science rather than random conspiracy theories. Vaccines come with a small risk but getting sick from Covid was a far higher one.

                    I love the way you guys manage to reduce your own credibility by your own comments.

                    • -6

                      @try2bhelpful: Ironically, we find people conveniently ignoring the excess death figures which are almost certainly caused by the vaccines and not just a random correlated effect.

                      These are statistically significant figures and cannot be hidden from the public. Although, maybe I should retract that because in England they adjusted the methodology to try and hide those excess deaths. They then stopped reporting on the figures altogether in some areas…

                      These excess deaths do not appear in countries with low vaccination rates, and there are quite a few of those around in the continent of Africa if you want to do research. The only way the pro-vaccine argument can win is if they argue it is merely correlation and you would also need to justify to yourself that you believe the covid virus is racist… So, nope, the pro-vaccine argument falls apart.

                      There is a lot of research coming out of Japan about the problems with covid vaccines, but I guess most people are asleep and busy watching their favourite fake science propaganda shown on television or the medical textbooks funded by the same cronies… People need to learn basic principles of mathematics which is severely lacking in the community… People need to be informed of the law so they can understand what is a crime as opposed to what are words written down on a piece of paper and enforced in a kangaroo court… Don't get me started on that.

                      Again, the only reason why they did not recall the covid vaccines was because the kill rate was not high enough to be recalled like they did with the original swine flu vaccine. It does not mean it did not end up damaging and a lot of people.

                      There is a lot of hyperbole being thrown around by the pro-vaccine lobby and fanbois…

                      Historical source - Swine Flu Program is halted in 9 states as 3 die from shots

                      Also, for those calling for Nuremberg Trials, gee, people forget that was the most Kangaroo court thing they did to the Germans. You could not mount a defence. Sure you might be happy to see Dan Andrews squealing, but we do not want to sink as low as the pro-vaccine camp and take away people's rights.

                      • +1

                        @Chiyoko: You anti-vaxxers are quite silly.

                      • -2

                        @Chiyoko: Top comment, agree with your point about Nuremberg too.

                      • +2

                        @Chiyoko: And yet all the science is on the excess deaths and health effects of the unvaccinated rather than the vaccinated; just as they are with other vaccines. All I ask is people Google around to look at mortality figures, and adverse health effects, of the vaccinated and unvaccinated. In relation to heart issues unvaccinated people who get Covid are much more likely to have adverse heart issues. That is from reputable sources.

                        All I ask is people to apply the common sense rule. To think about what is more likely in this scenario. It isn’t a world wide conspiracy to spend billions of dollars in a giant hoax perpetrated across every country on the planet. Or is It that a virulent disease broke out and a vaccination method, that was forty years in the making, finally had a break through because there was enough money, and urgency, applied to it. Just like many other medical or technological breakthrough.

                        Honestly dude you hang yourself with your own nonsensical comments. Step back and look logically. Do you think people will be convinced by your closing comments? Does any of it make any sense? You are defending the Nazis. Vaccines do have a small risk, but they save many, many more than they hurt. If they’d had a vaccine for Spanish Flu they would’ve saved millions of lives.

                        I don’t expect you to get off the crazy train, my job is to stop others getting on it. I’m leaving it to other people to do their own research. It isn’t hard to find.

                    • +2

                      @try2bhelpful: Well.. I used up my daily downvotes, that was my contribution, good luck soldier.

                      • +2

                        @buckethat: I know. But these people hang themselves so we don’t need a lot of downvotes. As I’ve said previously there search history must be completely bonkers. All the dark edge rabbit holes they go down.

                        Nobody is saying vaccination is perfect but a few minutes of open minded Googling will give a comparison of diseases managed by vaccination and those allowed to run rampant unchecked. The evidence is pretty compelling. If they’d developed a vaccine against bubonic plague, early on, they might’ve saved themselves a few hundred years of torment. If we’d had a vaccine against Spanish Flu we could’ve saved millions. Polio went from a horror show to a very small number of cases. Small pox basically disappeared. We quickly managed to get back to normality once large numbers of people were vaccinated against Covid. Prior to that people were dying in corridors because they couldn’t get them into beds.

                        Yes you will get the odd adverse reaction to vaccination, which is unfortunate, however this is a small number compared to those who are saved. Ignorance and stupidity are infecting society. Common sense is the inoculation against that.

                        • +1

                          @try2bhelpful:

                          Nobody is saying vaccination is perfect but a few minutes of open minded Googling will give a comparison of diseases managed by vaccination and those allowed to run rampant unchecked. The evidence is pretty compelling.

                          https://www.cell.com/cell-host-microbe/fulltext/S1931-3128(22)00572-8

                          "Surprisingly, little has changed with influenza vaccines since 1957 when they were first administered in US national vaccination programs. Over the years, influenza vaccines have never been able to elicit durable protective immunity against seasonal influenza virus strains, even against non-drifted strains. Although current influenza vaccines reduce the risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death to some degree, their effectiveness against clinically apparent infection is decidedly suboptimal, ranging from 14% to 60% over the past 15 influenza seasons."

                          "As of 2022, after more than 60 years of experience with influenza vaccines, very little improvement in vaccine prevention of infection has been noted."

                          "Taking all of these factors into account, it is not surprising that none of the predominantly mucosal respiratory viruses have ever been effectively controlled by vaccines."

                          "Durably protective vaccines against non-systemic mucosal respiratory viruses with high mortality rates have thus far eluded vaccine development efforts."

                          Of course, the whole article, is pushing for future vaccine development for alleged respiratory viruses, yet they basically admit above, if you understand what they are really saying, that it has been a FAILURE.

                          And that is not some "conspiracy" site, it is an article co-authored by……FAUCI.

                  • +4

                    @Mad Max:

                    I would be very worried if I was you

                    I'm very worried. I've died like 20 times this year!

                    • @Ughhh:

                      I'm very worried. I've died like 20 times this year!

                      Some died from the medical countermeasures. Some are in the process of dying from the medical countermeasures. Some are transformed from within from the medical countermeasures. All of the above most likely goes for people exposed to them.

    • -5

      It is funny how the old group of vax cheerleaders are still out in forces to support each other against the unruly antivaxers!!!
      It has been ages since I have been in these forums and you fools are still all here talking the same old sh!t regardless of all the truths that has been unveiled about these vaccines.
      Enough fun for tonight. I guess I will check in again in a few months to see if the vax cheerleaders are still alive or if some have died of unexpected heart attacks.

      • +2

        Funny, I was thinking the same thing about the antivaxxers. Only you guys must be really pissed off your dire warnings haven’t been borne out. No massive increase in heart attacks due to vaccines. A few months? Come back in twenty years and you still won’t see an increase in the heart attack rate.

      • +5

        It has been ages since I have been in these forums

        Should have stayed away.

      • -2

        In a very big cheerleader of vaccines. I would love to see more introduced. Such as an RSA one for infants. WA is finally starting on that but the rest of the country should too.

      • +1

        name checks out….

  • I picked up some Canola Oil so I could start deep frying food. I read Canola (among other Monounsaturated fats) was a good choice due to be Monounsaturated & high smoke point.

  • +1

    Cereal bomb

  • +1

    Having read a bunch a papers on thermal stability of frying oils, I do not eat deepfried food any more and I think it probably blows all other food categories out of the water in terms of health risk.

    The level of nasty oxidation products reaches concercing concentration over the course of 2-5 batches of chips, so even halfway through the first day I wouldn't want to go anywhere near it. Freshly changed oil would be fine, but there's no chance you can predict when that happens at KFC.Just do it at home with your own oil if you need that fix.

    Any effort people put towards avoiding sugar or red meat or sodium or anything else they think might be bad should really just be going towards this. Though I guess in theory scorched toast or heavily smoked meat might be coming close and have some of the same compounds.

  • How often do you change engine oil?

  • +2

    The other day, I had KFC for the first time in about 20 years. It was absolutely disgusting. The fries tasted like they were half-cooked frozen rods of flour. The chicken tasted like it was filled with cheap, unhealthy oil. The burger had no flavour, not even any nice sauce, no salad except a few thin strips of lettuce. They had no healthy drinks like orange juice. I could cook a better meal in 5 minutes. Can't believe KFC is popular. I also can't understand what kind of person would want to eat this food on a regular basis.

  • There are burger restaurants that uses the same grease and oil since the early 1900s, or japanese restaurants that use the same stock, after an ingredient is taken out, fresh water and replacement ingredient is added in.
    Wonder if they cause lots of cancer.

  • +1

    If you're concerned for risk of cancer then avoid fried food from outside places to begin with and do the occasional at home frying and discard after single or couple of uses. If you're still attracted to the fried food regardless either stop worrying about it as you can't know for sure how each place does it or follows industry standards to the dot… I generally do not eat fried food that much just on occasion…

  • +1

    Bit late to the party, however this may be the overall solution. Enjoy your KFC.

    https://youtu.be/Gu6yJyi97ZI

    Cheers

  • for deep frying I change it after second use.

  • +1

    Many years ago one of the best fish and chip shops near me use to change their oil every day they probably had the best ive ever tasted it was a super busy store all the time.

    When the nice old Italian guy running it died the shop went downhill quickly.

  • +2

    You called KFC to ask.. ffs lol

  • When the oil is cleaned all the left overs are just turned into gravy. Avoid it even more.

  • To answer OPs question directly:

    KFC and other such ventures regularly filter their oil and top it up with fresh oil as part of daily business

    Additionally, commercial oils have a higher concentration of trans fats which have other health risks associated (heart disease, increased cholesterol, etc), but they have these trans fats because they are more resilient to extended use.

    The risk is probably no different to running a deep fryer at home and using it 3 or so times before changing it. Note that everytime you turn on your deep fryer, the oil goes through one heating cycle, whereas KFC probably just go through one heating cycle a day.

  • +3

    Seed oils used in frying and many other foods contain a lot of unstable polyunsaturated fats which are probably the worst thing you can put in your body. Heating them to high temps only adds to the problem adding trans fats into the mix.

    Do your best to get those oils out of your diet and that's a good step in the right direction.

  • Well, I now know the fast food place just around the corner from me changes their cooking oil at least occasionally.

    The truck was there the other day to pick up a couple of drums of used oil for conversion into diesel fuel.

    But I still don't buy my fast food from them. It leaves an unpleasant taste in my mouth. Unlike what I buy from the place I do go to.

  • +1

    i worked at maccas for over 5 years in the early 2000's
    the oil used for all deep fried products were changed as neccessary (every few days)
    they'd be skimmed for loose bits, scrubbed down and topped up with fresh oil as need or every night before close (when they used to actually close!)
    at my time they were Vegetable Oils used.

    will say this though, fresh oil made such a difference to the smell, colour & taste of the fried products.

    • Those open 24/7, how do they change oil? Maybe I should avoid those

      • They do all cleaning and maintenance on the overnight shift.

  • +2

    10 years experience in QSR equipment maintenance.

    In low-medium volume stores oil life stretched and quality terrible. Boil out procedures not performed only adds to poor oil quality - So fresh oil changed into a vat that's totally blacked out with carbon build up. Sometimes even daily filter does not get done and they figure out how to get around the filter lockout. Seen many instances of oil contamination gone ignored - sometimes chemical contamination. High volume stores probably safest to eat from. They cook so much product that the oil level is getting pulled out with it. Modern units have automatic oil top-up.

    Do the right thing and just avoid seed oils altogether - certainly don't heat them up.

  • +1

    Red Rooster was every 3 days when I worked there, seasoned oil good, fresh oil not so good, old oil worst

    • There are many economic forces at play with universities and research surrounding food and aggressive marketing of foods as "healthy".

      You could do a bit of an investigation of the history of the industrial uses of seed oils and the eventual introduction of seed oils into the food supply. This might give you a bit more of feel for the subject.

      • Yeah fair point

    • Seed oils may be fine when consumed raw and in small amounts, but there is a lot of literature showing they rapidly degrade when heated and become very inflammatory. That article doesn't talk about deepfrying at all, and I can't help but wonder if they were sneakily trying to change the story by ignoring that.

      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31444155/

      • +1

        Thank you! Screw those guys then. I was using canola oil because of its smoke point and price. Annoying that the obsession with smoke points disregards this info.

        What then is a good oil to fry with? Light olive oil?

        • +1

          Butter, ghee, coconut oil or tallow is probably the safest. Saturated fat should be much more stable at high temps.

        • Saturated (coconut, ghee) and monounsaturated (olive) oils are thermally stable. There are some seed oils that are monounsaturated ("high oleic") but you'd have to read the label. Canola is actually among the better seed oils, but still wouldn't want to reuse it many times.

          • @ozfool: Are we only talking about repeated heating here? Like use once to fry something in a pan is low impact but repeated use makes it bad?

            • +1

              @gakko: That's right, the bad stuff basically just accumulates linearly with number of times of reuse.

              Oils that you only use once, thermal stability probably doesn't matter that much.

            • @gakko:

              Like use once to fry something in a pan is low impact but repeated use makes it bad?

              I would say even one-time use is already bad, repeated use makes it even worse.

        • +1

          Yes, seed oils (canola, soybean, sunflower, etc) are all high in polyunsaturated fat which is thermally unstable. But the biggest problem with them is that to extract the oil from the seeds, it requires a lot of heavy processing steps (including using solvent and heating). So I wouldn't use canola oil for anything, not only for frying.

          For stir fry, olive oil should be fine. And as others said: ghee, butter, coconut oil.
          For deep fry, I am not so sure if you can do it with coconut oil or ghee.
          If you can source palm oil, that would be ideal for deep frying. It has low polyunsaturated fat and lighter extraction process.
          Most developed countries can't grow palm or coconut, so I guess there really is no other option for them except to market seed oils.

  • Infrequent intaking of fried stuffs should have minimal risk.

  • oh wow, didn't realise this was actually a problem. Have been using the same oil at home for years (at least a decade, will cook up a schnitty, chips, dim sim etc…. and then funnel it back into the 10L drum. gets topped up with new stuff occasionaly, but its a blend of oils/brands etc.
    is this actually an issue, i recon mum would have used the same bi-lo brand of 'cooking oil' for at least 30 years.

    • Lol wat? Do you filter it? Otherwise, wouldn't it be filled with years old food crumbs and batter?

      • just though a funnel, scoop off the old stuff if it comes out next time i pour it out.

    • +1

      Yeah that's definitely pretty nasty for you, as certain as anything can be in nutrition science. Please buy some new oil (maybe canola, definitely not sunflower) and try not to reuse it too many times.

      Filtering the solids out doesn't fix anything, the fatty acids in the oil have oxidised at the molecular level.

      Back in the old days when people saved the lard and tallow from their cooking, that habit was probably a bit better, as saturated fats don't oxidise.

      • ok, thanks will get some canola oil and might get mum some new stuff too.

  • Bro you are eating KFC regularly and your worried about the oil…

    • The oil is probably the reason to be worried.

  • the truth - IF YOU CARE on your health and your family - plz read,then do your own reaserch

    https://hunterandgatherfoods.com/blogs/real-food-lifestyle/a…

    • +4

      a blog isn't real 'research'

    • +1

      You do realise these sort of comments are what the clickbait sites use? If you want credibility you need to lay out your reasoning, not just give a link to a random site.

      • maybe YOU should do your own research and fully wake up with a splash of water on your eyes before you make comment s

        https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-13489439/vegetabl…

        its actually a lot worse than mentioned by professionals in their field in above professional studies,
        its highly processed, use many chemicals an heat to manufacture oil
        Would you consume water laced with many chemicals including hexane ? ?

  • for fast food, at least once a week or twice if your late night crew are bothered

  • I re-tried this question in chatgpt and asked it where it got its info from. Apart from the predictable "I can't browse the web in real time", it told me to search google scholar for studies as it can't access databases lmao. It's basically one of those cookers who spout "do your own research"' anytime you ask for sources. Complete junk. Useless would be a generous descriptor, overall, it's actively harmful seeing as people take whatever it spits out as gospel due to its "intelligence".

  • +1

    When I was in my teens I worked at KFC….. every night the oil goes through a filtration machine which also extracts sediment to make gravy.

    • So, I should avoid gravy.
      What about coleslaw? Do they put any part of the oil into coleslaw?

  • Personally I've been using deep fat fryers since age 10 and I'm now 60. Selectively though, and probably several years never touching one. Yes parents weren't great… At least I learnt to cook though.

    It's pretty obvious when the oil is old, a) via smell and b) via the amount it bubbles up adding chips etc.

    I reckon on about 4/5 heat cycles maximum and do filter between as much as possible. For us that means about 4/8 weeks as some things just have to be fried in this way e.g. mushrooms in batter etc. I don't generally put the oil in the fridge, just a solid glass jar in the cool/dark etc.

    It saddens me that you have to chuck it out so soon and certainly in my LGA there's no obvious way to recycle it like you can for engine oil etc.

  • +1

    ChatGPT also states KFC are known to use Oil Purifiers, specifically Magnesium Trisilicate. There is still much debate over the cancer claim.

    • Thanks! This is new to me. I asked ChatGPT about it and it says there is no conclusive evidence. Not sure about "conclusive evidence". Does it take people to die from cancer and prove they died from having KFC? But then how do they know whether the cancer is caused by Magnesium Trisilicate or oil.

      • +1

        It’s also depends on timing, plenty of fast food joints that keep their oil a lot longer than 10 days, they would also be of concern. I worked in places where once a week ran the oil through paper towels and straight back in the fryer.
        Pretty much all vegetable oils have some cancer link, so how much extra due to changing every 10 days?? That’s the question.

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