Korede Abdullah 
LAGOS, Nigeria – The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) has warned consumers about the growing presence of sophisticated, adulterated palm oil in markets across the state.
The agency issued the warning on Monday following a technical presentation at the Lagos State Food Safety Conference and Exhibition on emerging methods used to adulterate palm oil and the challenges of detecting them.
The presentation was delivered by Dr Nurah Oseni, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Food Technology at Auchi Polytechnic.
Oseni, in a paper titled ‘Palm Oil Adulteration: Emerging Risks, Detection Strategies and Regulatory Control,’ said the product was particularly vulnerable to adulteration because of its high trading volume, consumer preference for deep-red colour, price differences and informal market practices.
She identified several emerging risks, including the use of potentially carcinogenic Sudan and Azo dyes, the blending of palm oil with recovered or spent cooking oils, and mixtures involving multiple adulterants designed to evade basic detection methods.
LASCOPA General Manager Afolabi Solebo urged residents to be vigilant when buying palm oil and report suspected adulteration or unscrupulous traders through the agency’s official channels.
He said the agency had intensified market surveillance and would prosecute suspects where violations were established under relevant laws.
Solebo urged consumers to “shine their eyes” when purchasing palm oil, particularly in informal markets where regulatory oversight may be more difficult.
Oseni also advised consumers to use visual inspection as an initial precaution, although she stressed that appearance alone cannot establish whether palm oil has been adulterated.
She explained that genuine palm oil may naturally separate into layers, with the lower layer appearing orange to red-yellowish rather than having a uniformly deep-red appearance.
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Mirian Gom