The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency, LASCOPA, has raised concerns over increasingly sophisticated methods of palm oil adulteration, urging consumers across the state to exercise caution when purchasing the widely consumed product.
The warning was issued following a technical presentation at the Lagos State Food Safety Conference and Exhibition 2026 by Dr. Nurah Oseni, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Food Technology at Auchi Polytechnic. Her presentation focused on emerging risks, detection strategies and regulatory measures for palm oil adulteration.
Dr. Oseni identified several factors that make palm oil vulnerable to adulteration, including its high demand, consumers’ perception that deep-red colour indicates quality, price differences and informal trading practices. She also raised concerns about the use of potentially harmful Sudan and Azo dyes, the blending of palm oil with recovered or recycled oils, including spent cooking oil, and the use of multiple adulterants designed to evade basic quality checks.
She further highlighted the growing risk of digital and traceability fraud, including falsified labels and batch records, stressing the need for stronger surveillance and improved detection methods throughout the supply chain.
Dr. Oseni advised consumers to carry out simple visual checks as an initial precaution, noting that palm oil may naturally separate into layers, with the lower layer appearing orange to reddish-yellow rather than uniformly deep red. However, she cautioned that visual inspection alone cannot conclusively establish whether palm oil has been adulterated.
The food safety expert recommended a tiered detection approach involving risk-based screening, rapid physicochemical and spectroscopic tests, and confirmatory laboratory analysis. She also proposed a five-step surveillance framework — Risk Map, Sample, Screen, Confirm and Act — supported by an adulteration intelligence database and coordinated action among processors, traders, laboratories, regulators, researchers and consumers.
The General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of LASCOPA, Afolabi Solebo, Esq., reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to protecting consumers from unsafe and substandard products. He urged Lagosians to remain vigilant, “shine their eyes” and report suspected adulterated palm oil and unscrupulous traders through the agency’s official channels as market surveillance is intensified across the state.
