Opinion piece by Sunil Kalra
The Nostalgia of the Kitchen
If you grew up in a South Asian household, the sharp, pungent aroma of mustard oil hitting a hot pan is deeply tied to the feeling of home. For generations across the subcontinent (from India and Pakistan to Bangladesh and Nepal) sarson ka tel (or shorshe tel) has been a cornerstone of traditional cooking, used for everything from daily tadkas to preserving seasonal pickles.
At Bloom Organic Bazaar, we deeply respect our shared culinary heritage. Recently, we explored the idea of launching an organic, cold-pressed mustard oil. However, our commitment to our community’s health requires us to look past nostalgia and deeply examine the science behind what we sell.
After reviewing the nutritional data and Canadian food safety standards, we made the difficult decision not to introduce it as a cooking medium. Here is the transparent, scientific reasoning behind our choice.
The Reality of Seed Oils
First, it is important to understand how we view cooking oils in general. The modern diet is overloaded with industrially extracted seed oils. While mustard oil is traditionally cold-pressed (Kachi Ghani) and less refined than standard vegetable oils, it remains a seed oil. The process of extracting high volumes of fat from tiny seeds often results in oils that are unstable when exposed to high heat, which can lead to oxidation and free radical formation in the body.
The Science of Erucic Acid
But the specific issue with mustard oil goes much deeper than standard seed oil concerns. It comes down to a specific monounsaturated fatty acid called erucic acid.
Pure, traditional mustard oil is made up of roughly 40% to 50% erucic acid. Over the past few decades, scientific studies evaluating high dietary intake of erucic acid have linked it to a condition called myocardial lipidosis—an unhealthy accumulation of fat within the heart muscle fibers.
Because of these cardiovascular health concerns, regulatory bodies have taken strict action. Health Canada and the US FDA do not permit traditional mustard oil to be sold as an edible cooking oil. The "External Use Only" Warning You may be wondering, "But I see mustard oil at the local grocery store all the time!" If you check the labels closely on traditional, imported mustard oils sold in North America, you will find a legally mandated warning: "For External Use Only." While it is excellent for traditional Ayurvedic massage, hair care, and external skin application, it is not legally classified as safe for internal consumption in Canada due to the erucic acid content.
Our Commitment to You
We know that food is emotional and shifting away from an ingredient your family used for generations can be difficult. However, our philosophy is simple: if the nutritional science is highly contested, and the national health authorities deem it unsafe for consumption, we will not put it on your dinner table.
Instead of seed oils, we encourage our community to lean on the most stable, nourishing, and historically proven cooking mediums: high-quality organic Ghee and cold-pressed Coconut oil. These saturated fats are incredibly heat-stable, highly digestible, and authentically traditional.
Taking control of our health sometimes means leaving certain traditions in the past, and embracing the ones that truly serve our well-being today.
