The Lagos State Government has issued a directive to stop the use of petroleum tankers for carrying edible oil while food safety and hygiene worries have been on the rise due to possible contamination of edible oil during transportation in the downstream food value chain.
The directive came as a result of the signing of Memorandum of Understanding by Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control and other stakeholders in the edible oil industry and haulage industry.
Investigations revealed disturbing incidents involving used petroleum product tankers being reused to carry cooking oil for human consumption, regulatory authorities said.
The Government had cautioned that petroleum residues that remain in such tankers could taint edible oil and cause severe health issues to the consumers.
During the signing, Afolabi Solebo said that the government could not accept the transportation practices that can pose threat to the health and safety of residents.
It’s a collaboration between regulatory agencies and industry operators designed to bolster oversight throughout the food transportation chain and to ensure compliance with safety measures, he said.
Only qualified and dedicated tankers would now be allowed to transport edible oil within Lagos State, Solebo said.
He said he would be enforcing the new regulations and other regulatory penalties against operators who violate the rules.
Consumer protection is still an important government duty particularly in areas directly related to public health and food safety, he said.
NAFDAC officials said they had uncovered several cases of mixing and matching of petroleum tankers to transport edible oil in different industrial zones and port areas of Lagos without adhering to the decontamination protocols.
The findings were alarming, Martins Iluyomade, director of the agency, said they revealed compliance lapses in some parts of the haulage industry.
The development was very worrying in terms of potential contamination of food and, more broadly, consumer safety, he said.
According to Iluyomade the new regulation would bring in stringent monitoring process, better product traceability and identification mechanism for the tankers qualified to carry edible oil.
Manufacturers, distributors, and transport operators were already told they must fully meet the updated safety rules, or face regulatory action, he added.
Industry players have expressed it as a major step towards cleaning the food transportation system and boosting consumer confidence on the edible oil market in Nigeria.
The intervention also reflects the increasing scrutiny of food safety compliance by regulators, as they continue to step up their food safety prevention efforts stemming from avoidable health hazards associated with poor industrial practices.
