FAQ

Why not just pour it down the sink, or into a jar?

Oil cools and hardens in pipes, which is why water companies ask you not to pour it down the sink. Jars and bottles work, but you wait for the oil to cool, pour without spilling, and find somewhere to keep them. Safe Oil is for the people who’d rather pour something in the pan full of used cooking oil and then walk away.

There are already solidifiers out there. What’s different?

Read their reviews and the same three complaints come up again and again: it didn’t set or only went soft, the block was hard to get out of the pan, and you had to stir it into hot oil. Safe Oil is being designed around those three: a pre-dosed sachet so there’s no guessing, designed to set without stirring, and a block that comes out of the pan in one piece. Subject to lab testing. 

Will it work with a lot of oil, like a deep fryer or a karahi?

It’s designed for frying pans, woks and karahis, chip pans and deep fryers. The rule is one sachet per 500 ml, so more oil means more sachets. The lab sessions test fresh and well-used oil, in different pans and on gas, electric and induction, and I’ll publish the results as they come in, pan by pan.

What if it doesn’t set?

Then it doesn’t ship. Every claim on the pack has to pass set tests in the lab, before I make a single box. If something fails, you’ll read about it here before anyone else, and the plan changes.

Where does the set oil go?

In your general waste bin. Not the sink, not the food caddy.

How much do I need, and how many uses in a box?

One sachet per 500 ml of used oil. A Starter Box has 8 sachets, enough for up to 4 litres. If there’s more oil in the pan than the pack says, add another sachet.

Is it safe to use?

You add it to the pan right after frying, so the same care as hot oil applies, and the instructions on the pack will be short and clear. I’m aiming for a product that isn’t classed as hazardous, and the full safety wording comes out of the lab work, not before.

What’s in it?

It’s being designed around plant ingredients, with nothing from animals. I’ll publish the full ingredient list once the formula is finalised and certified, and I won’t print “plant-based” on the box until the certificates say so.

Is this a UK product?

Designed in the UK, and being developed with a UK manufacturer. I’ll say “made in the UK” the day the maker is signed, not before.

When will I get it, and what do I get for joining now?

First boxes are planned for spring 2027, funded by pre-orders. The waitlist gets the pre-order link before anyone else, a lower price than anyone after launch, a short update after each lab session, and a say in what gets tested. One email when it’s ready, unsubscribe any time.

I run a kitchen, a takeaway. Is this for me?

Not yet, but soon, and I’d like to talk. Email omar@wasllabs.co.uk.

From Omar

I’m Omar. I read a few thousand reviews of oil solidifiers before I started this, and they say the same thing in a thousand different ways: stir it into hot oil, wait, then dig the block out of the pan, and sometimes it doesn’t set at all. I’m building the one you pour in and leave alone.

Where it’s at: the UK patent application is filed, the lab work with a UK manufacturer starts soon, and nothing goes on sale until it passes the tests I’ve set. It’s a one-person company, Wasl Labs Ltd, and I’m doing it in the open, so you’ll get the results as they come in, good and bad.

If you fry a lot, you’re the person I most want to hear from. Join the list and answer the questions.