- Agency intensifies market surveillance, threatens prosecution of offenders
The Lagos State Government has warned residents over the circulation of adulterated palm oil in markets across the state, urging consumers to exercise caution and report suspected sellers as authorities intensify surveillance operations.
The warning was issued by the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) following concerns raised at the Lagos State Food Safety Conference and Exhibition 2026 over emerging methods used to manipulate the appearance and quality of palm oil.
A technical presentation delivered by Dr Nurah Oseni, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Food Technology, Auchi Polytechnic, highlighted several risks associated with palm oil adulteration, including the use of harmful dyes and recycled oils.
Oseni, in her paper titled “Palm Oil Adulteration: Emerging Risks, Detection Strategies and Regulatory Control,” stated that palm oil remained vulnerable to adulteration because of its high demand, price differences, informal trading practices and consumer preference for deep-red colouration.
She identified the use of Sudan and Azo dyes to improve the colour of palm oil as one of the major emerging concerns, noting that such substances could pose serious health risks.
The expert also disclosed that some adulterators mix palm oil with recovered or recycled oils, including spent cooking oil, while others employ multiple additives aimed at avoiding basic quality checks.
She raised concerns over traceability fraud, including fake labels and falsified batch records, and called for stronger monitoring systems across the palm oil supply chain.
Oseni advised consumers to carry out basic visual checks before purchase, explaining that genuine palm oil may naturally separate into layers, with the lower portion appearing orange to red-yellowish rather than maintaining a uniform deep-red colour.
She, however, cautioned that visual inspection alone could not conclusively determine whether a product had been adulterated.
The food safety expert recommended a multi-level detection approach involving risk-based screening, rapid physicochemical and spectroscopic testing, as well as laboratory confirmation through proper sampling procedures.
She proposed a five-step surveillance framework for Lagos comprising “Risk Map, Sample, Screen, Confirm and Act,” supported by an intelligence database on adulteration cases.
According to her, effective monitoring would require cooperation among processors, traders, laboratories, regulators, researchers and consumers.
Reacting to the development, the General Manager of LASCOPA, Afolabi Solebo, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to protecting residents from unsafe and substandard products.
Solebo urged consumers to report suspected cases of adulterated palm oil and other unsafe products through LASCOPA’s official channels.
He stated that the agency had increased surveillance activities across markets in the state and would take action against individuals found involved in the sale of adulterated products.
The LASCOPA boss added that offenders would face arrest and prosecution in line with relevant laws.
