01/03/2012 (Asia One News), Petaling Jaya - The analysis of 64 samples of plastic-packed 1kg cooking oil conducted by the Oils and Fats Technology Centre of Malay-sian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) showed that they were of good quality.

MPOB said the samples, including 19 brands reported to be unsafe, were collected from grocery stores, supermarkets and manufacturers nationwide.

It said internal tests showed that the total polar compound levels ranged from 3.52% to 8.82% compared with between 28.4% and 70.8% reported previously.

"This is way below the 25% maximum standard set by the European Union," it said.

It was reported in December that unscrupulous manufacturers were believed to be buying used cooking oil from restaurants and processing it for sale in 1kg packets.

The Malaysian Asso­ciation of Standards Users had revealed that tests on 19 brands sold at grocery stores and supermarkets nationwide showed the oil to be unsafe as it had repeatedly been exposed to high temperatures.

The association sent the samples for polar compound testing to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, which found all 19 brands falling short of international standards.

Association chief executive officer Ratna Devi Nadarajan said the results showed the oil was not fresh and had been exposed to very high temperatures.