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 issued the alert following a technical presentation at the Lagos State Food Safety Conference and Exhibition, where a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Food Technology at Auchi Polytechnic, Dr Nurah Oseni, highlighted emerging risks associated with palm oil adulteration.
LASCOPA urged consumers to remain vigilant and report suspected cases to the agency as it intensifies surveillance across markets in Lagos.
The agency’s General Manager, Afolabi Solebo, reaffirmed its commitment to protecting residents from unsafe and substandard products. He urged consumers to “shine their eyes” and report suspected adulterated palm oil as well as traders involved in the practice.
Solebo also warned that anyone found selling adulterated palm oil would be arrested and prosecuted under relevant laws.
In her presentation titled, “Palm Oil Adulteration: Emerging Risks, Detection Strategies and Regulatory Control,” Oseni explained that palm oil is particularly vulnerable to adulteration because of its high demand, consumers’ preference for deep-red colour and differences in market prices.
She also identified informal trading practices and the difficulty of detecting modern adulterants as factors contributing to the problem.
According to Oseni, emerging adulteration methods include the use of potentially carcinogenic Sudan and Azo dyes to intensify the colour of palm oil. Other methods involve mixing palm oil with recovered or recycled oils, including spent cooking oil, as well as using combinations of adulterants designed to evade basic quality checks.
Oseni 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 having a uniformly deep-red colour.
However, she cautioned that visual inspection alone cannot conclusively determine whether palm oil has been adulterated.
LASCOPA said it would continue monitoring markets across Lagos and encouraged residents to report suspected cases through its official channels.
