Cooking practices could put us at risk of cancer

I READ the report on June 21 with much interest and concern ("Sharp rise in number diagnosed with cancer").

As a biologist, I have always suspected that the high incidence of colorectal cancer is linked to the cooking methods of our hawkers and chefs.

This is especially so in frying the many sumptuous dishes like fried noodles and rice, oyster omelette and carrot cake.

These cooks don't thoroughly clean their frying pans after each preparation. So the leftover (black) crusts and stale oil are reused repeatedly.

Could these remains be carcinogenic in nature? Has there ever been any chemical analysis done on the remnants left after cooking on these utensils (which are continually used to prepare dishes that follow)?

What about research on the effects of boiling beverage or soup, or hot oil in disposable plastic wares and tied-up plastic bags, when diners take away their food and beverage?

Yvonne Tan (Mrs)

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