LASCOPA WARNS LAGOS RESIDENTS OVER ADULTERATED PALM OIL

The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency has warned residents against buying adulterated palm oil, saying some products may contain harmful substances used to alter their colour and appearance.

The warning followed a technical presentation at the Lagos State Food Safety Conference and Exhibition 2026 by Nurah Oseni, a senior lecturer in the Department of Food Technology at Auchi Polytechnic.

Oseni said palm oil was particularly vulnerable to adulteration because of its high trading volume, consumers’ preference for deep-red colour and price differences in the market.

She identified the use of potentially harmful Sudan and Azo dyes to change the colour of palm oil as one of the emerging risks. She also raised concerns about the blending of palm oil with recovered or recycled oils, including spent cooking oil.

The expert further warned about the falsification of product labels and batch records, describing stronger surveillance and improved detection methods as necessary to tackle the problem.

Oseni advised consumers to carry out basic visual checks when buying palm oil but cautioned that appearance alone could not conclusively determine whether the product had been adulterated.

She explained that palm oil could naturally separate into layers, with the lower portion appearing orange to red-yellowish rather than uniformly deep red.

Meanwhile, the General Manager of LASCOPA, Afolabi Solebo, urged Lagos residents to report suspected cases of adulterated palm oil and unscrupulous traders through the agency’s official channels.

Solebo said the agency had intensified market surveillance across the state as part of efforts to protect consumers from unsafe and substandard products.