LAGOS — The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) has raised the alarm over the increasing circulation of sophisticated adulterated palm oil in markets across the state.
The agency’s warning followed 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, Auchi Polytechnic.
Oseni, in a paper titled “Palm Oil Adulteration: Emerging Risks, Detection Strategies and Regulatory Control,” highlighted the growing sophistication of methods used to adulterate palm oil and the difficulty consumers may face in identifying contaminated products.
She attributed the vulnerability of palm oil to adulteration to its high trading volume, consumers’ preference for deep-red colour as an indicator of quality, price differences, informal market practices and the difficulty of detecting some modern adulterants.
According to her, emerging risks include the use of potentially carcinogenic Sudan and Azo dyes to intensify the colour of palm oil, the blending of palm oil with recovered or recycled oils, including spent cooking oil, as well as multi-adulterant mixtures designed to evade basic quality checks.
Oseni advised consumers to carry out simple visual checks as an initial precaution, noting that genuine palm oil may separate into layers, with the lower layer appearing orange to red-yellowish rather than uniformly deep red.
She, however, cautioned that visual inspection alone is not sufficient to confirm whether palm oil has been adulterated.
Reacting to the concerns, the General Manager of LASCOPA, Afolabi Solebo, urged Lagos residents to remain 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 as part of efforts to protect consumers from unsafe and substandard products.
He also warned that anyone found dealing in adulterated palm oil would be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with relevant laws.
The agency therefore urged consumers to exercise caution when purchasing palm oil and to report suspicious products or trading practices to the appropriate authorities.
