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How to Test TPC Before You Sell Used Cooking Oil

TPC (total polar compounds) is the FSSAI trigger. At 25 percent, stop frying and sell the oil as UCO. Rapid test kits plus a fry-life SOP are enough for most restaurants. Labs are for disputes and plants.

14 June 2026
7 min read
By BioTradX Team
Total polar compounds decide when frying oil must leave the kitchen. How Indian FBOs test TPC and then sell UCO under RUCO.

What TPC measures

Polar compounds form as oil breaks down in heat. They are the health reason FSSAI set 25 percent. Colour alone is not TPC.

Practical testing

Brand SOP: hours, product mix, filtration, plus a rapid TPC strip or meter. Calibrate against a lab if you run a chain. Do not wait until the oil smells burnt.

After the fail

Cool, filter, store, list on BioTradX. That moment is a sale, not a disposal cost, if you have a RUCO buyer.

Do not cheat the test

Topping up with fresh oil to 'pass' TPC and keep frying is the behaviour RUCO was written to stop.