It really isn't safe, picard. You see, the heating of the oil releases combustable, air-density fumes, and when they build up in the relatively ventilation free area of a modern kitchen, they eventually come in contact with the heat source and explode, simulating an FAE. Even if it doesn't reach flashpoint, it builds up in the air and you breath it in and the vaporized oil covers the insides of your lungs, blocking the absorbtion of oxygen in your blood stream, so you eventually drown. *laughs*

Of course it's safe- it's been used for cooking for thousands of years.

Or are you talking about saturated fats? In which case, it is one of your better oils. And one of the tastier, to. Look at the Greeks and Italians- they use lots of olive oil in thier cooking, and their heart attack rates and the like are much lower. It is full of cholesterol, but the good kind, it actually helps you.

Down side is that really isn't suited for deep fat frying, or for anything that requires a super high tempurature. But the deep fat fryer is the most lethal peice of consumer and industrial machinery in America. You are better off pan frying if you really need to, and most things you can broil.

Basically, the more heavily processed it is, the scarier a fat is. That holds true for most food, actually.