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What Is RUCO? FSSAI Used Cooking Oil Rules Explained

RUCO means Repurpose Used Cooking Oil. It is the FSSAI ecosystem that sends used cooking oil from restaurants and hotels to enrolled biodiesel and other non-food units. If you fry commercially in India, this is the legal path.

8 min read
By BioTradX Team
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RUCO (Repurpose Used Cooking Oil) is FSSAI's programme to move frying oil out of the food chain into biodiesel. Plain-language rules for Indian kitchens.

RUCO in one paragraph

FSSAI launched RUCO so used cooking oil is not reused for food once it is spent, and is not dumped in drains. Enrolled non-food production (NFP) units and their authorised aggregators collect it, mostly for biodiesel.

People type Ruko, Ruco, and RUCO. The official expansion is Repurpose Used Cooking Oil.

The two numbers every kitchen must know

Total polar compounds (TPC) must stay at or below 25 percent while the oil is used for frying. FBOs using more than 50 litres of oil per day must keep usage and disposal records and hand UCO to authorised collectors.

How BioTradX fits RUCO

BioTradX is the marketplace layer: you list used cooking oil, match a RUCO-aligned buyer, and keep a trade record. RUCO enrolment of the NFP unit still sits with FSSAI. The marketplace does not replace the RUCO app. It organises volume and paperwork around it.

Next step

Read the FSSAI RUCO site, then list UCO on BioTradX with your FSSAI licence and weekly litres.

Official sources

General information only, not legal advice. Confirm the current rule with the issuing authority.

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Ready to put this into practice?

Trade verified biofuel feedstock, post a requirement or talk to the BioTradX team about bulk sourcing and compliance support.

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