Portable fluorescent probe identifies bad cooking oil

When cooking oil is used for an extended period, harmful chemicals are generated. Unfortunately, some of this adulterated oil is used to make food and sold to consumers.

The conventional detection method is not easily accessible to the public because it requires expensive equipment and professional skills. Moreover, it is merely an indirect method that measures only the acidity of bad cooking oils or detects impurities added during the cooking process, rendering it difficult to apply to all types of oils.

To improve the detection method, a research team fabricated a fluorescent molecular sensor that anyone can use to measure the cooking extent accurately. This sensor uses a dual turn-on method that detects both the viscosity and acidity that inevitably change during the cooking process. It can accurately measure how long the cooking oil was used regardless of the ingredient, and even detects a small amount of bad oil mixed with fresh oil.

The research team also developed a portable platform named (Bad Oil Sensing System) for immediate use. It is a widely applicable tool to monitor the quality of cooking oil by consumers and the food industry.