The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) has warned residents about the growing presence of sophisticated adulterated palm oil in markets across the state.
The agency raised the alarm following a technical presentation at the Lagos State Food Safety Conference and Exhibition by Dr Nurah Oseni, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Food Technology at Auchi Polytechnic.
Oseni, in her paper titled “Palm Oil Adulteration: Emerging Risks, Detection Strategies and Regulatory Control,” said palm oil was particularly vulnerable to adulteration because of its high trading volume, consumers’ preference for deep-red colour and price differences.
She identified the use of potentially carcinogenic Sudan and Azo dyes to enhance the colour of palm oil, the blending of palm oil with recovered or recycled oils, including spent cooking oil, and sophisticated multi-adulterant mixtures designed to evade basic quality checks as emerging risks.
LASCOPA General Manager, Afolabi Solebo, urged residents to be vigilant and report suspected cases of adulterated palm oil and unscrupulous traders through the agency’s official channels.
Solebo said LASCOPA had intensified surveillance across markets in the state and warned that anyone found dealing in adulterated products would be arrested and prosecuted under relevant laws.
Oseni also advised consumers to carry out simple visual checks as an initial precaution. She noted that genuine palm oil may separate into layers, with the lower layer appearing orange to red-yellowish rather than uniformly deep red.
However, she cautioned that visual inspection alone cannot conclusively determine whether palm oil has been adulterated.