Lagos warns residents against adulterated palm oil

The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) has warned residents about increasingly sophisticated methods of adulterating palm oil, urging them to be careful when buying the product in markets.

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The agency also revealed that it would intensify market surveillance across the state to protect consumers from unsafe and substandard products.

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

Ms Oseni presented a paper titled ‘Palm Oil Adulteration: Emerging Risks, Detection Strategies and Regulatory Control.’

According to a statement shared by the Lagos State Government on Monday, Ms Oseni said palm oil was particularly vulnerable to adulteration and increasingly sophisticated adulteration methods also made it difficult to identify contaminated products through basic checks.

“Palm oil is particularly vulnerable to adulteration because of its high trading volume, consumers’ association of deep-red colour with quality, price differences, informal market practices, and challenges in detecting sophisticated adulterants,” she said.

Ms Oseni identified the use of potentially carcinogenic Sudan and Azo dyes to alter the colour of palm oil as one of the emerging risks.

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The warning comes amid broader concerns about food safety in Nigeria. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has raised concerns about the adulteration of palm oil with hazardous substances, including azo dyes, and the challenges of monitoring unbranded food products sold in open markets.

She also raised concerns about blending palm oil with recovered or recycled oils, including spent cooking oil, and using mixtures with multiple adulterants designed to evade basic quality checks.

The lecturer further warned about falsified product labels and batch records, which she said could undermine efforts to trace products through the supply chain.

How consumers can identify adulteration

Ms Oseni advised consumers to use visual checks as an initial precaution when purchasing palm oil, but cautioned that appearance alone could not confirm whether a product had been adulterated.

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

She, however, stressed that consumers could not establish the safety of palm oil solely by examining its colour or appearance.

To improve detection, the lecturer recommended a tiered system involving risk-based screening, rapid physicochemical and spectroscopic tests, and confirmatory laboratory analysis.

She said the system should be supported by proper sampling and chain-of-custody procedures.

Ms Oseni also proposed a five-step surveillance framework for Lagos: “Risk Map, Sample, Screen, Confirm and Act.”

She stated that the framework should include an adulteration intelligence database and clearly defined responsibilities for processors, traders, laboratories, regulators, researchers and consumers.

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LASCOPA promises stronger monitoring

The General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of LASCOPA, Afolabi Solebo, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to protecting consumers from unsafe and substandard products.

Mr Solebo urged Lagos residents to report suspected adulterated palm oil and unscrupulous traders through the agency’s official channels.

“We urge Lagosians to shine their eyes and report suspected adulterated palm oil and unscrupulous traders through the Agency’s official channels,” he said.

He added that market surveillance would be intensified across the state.