Lagos Intensifies Surveillance as Adulterated Palm Oil Raises Food Safety Concerns

The Lagos State Government has intensified surveillance of markets across the state following concerns over increasingly sophisticated forms of palm oil adulteration, including the alleged use of industrial dyes and other substances to alter the appearance of the widely consumed cooking oil.

The warning was issued by the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) after a technical presentation at the Lagos State Food Safety Conference and Exhibition 2026, where experts examined emerging risks in the palm oil supply chain and ways of detecting adulterated products.

The presentation, titled “Palm Oil Adulteration: Emerging Risks, Detection Strategies and Regulatory Control,” was delivered by Dr Nurah Oseni, a senior lecturer in the Department of Food Technology at Auchi Polytechnic.

Oseni identified several factors that make palm oil vulnerable to adulteration, including its high trading volume, price differences, informal market practices and the perception among some consumers that a deeper red colour indicates better quality.

She raised particular concern over the reported use of Sudan and Azo dyes to artificially intensify the colour of palm oil.

The expert also identified the blending of palm oil with recovered or recycled oils, including spent cooking oil, and the use of combinations of adulterants designed to make detection more difficult.

Another concern is traceability fraud, involving practices such as falsifying product labels and batch records, which can make it difficult for regulators to establish the origin and movement of suspect products through the supply chain.

However, the warning does not mean that genuine palm oil is inherently unsafe or cancer-causing.

The health concern relates specifically to adulterated palm oil containing prohibited or potentially hazardous substances. Industrial Sudan dyes, for example, are not approved food colourants because of their established health risks.

The distinction is important because naturally produced palm oil can have varying shades of orange, red and yellow depending on the fruit, processing method and other factors.

Oseni therefore cautioned consumers against judging the safety or authenticity of palm oil solely by its colour.

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She said simple visual examination could be used as an initial precaution, noting that genuine palm oil may separate into layers, with the lower portion appearing orange to reddish-yellow rather than uniformly deep red.

She nevertheless stressed that visual inspection cannot conclusively establish palm oil adulteration.

The expert also warned consumers against relying on the popular water test for palm oil, saying such household methods cannot scientifically confirm whether the product has been adulterated.

Laboratory analysis is required to establish the presence of prohibited dyes or other contaminants.

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

She also called for proper sampling and chain-of-custody procedures to ensure that laboratory results are reliable enough to support regulatory action.

Oseni proposed a five-stage surveillance model for Lagos — “Risk Map, Sample, Screen, Confirm and Act.”

The proposed system would involve identifying high-risk areas, collecting samples, carrying out preliminary screening, confirming suspected cases through laboratory testing and taking enforcement action where violations are established.

She also recommended the creation of an adulteration intelligence database and closer cooperation among processors, traders, laboratories, regulators, researchers and consumers.

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

Solebo urged Lagos residents to remain vigilant and report suspected cases of adulterated palm oil and unscrupulous trading through LASCOPA’s official channels.

He said market surveillance had been intensified across the state and warned that anyone found dealing in adulterated products would face appropriate enforcement action, including arrest and prosecution under relevant laws.

The latest warning comes against the backdrop of previous concerns about adulterated palm oil in Lagos markets.

Earlier this year, LASCOPA took enforcement action against a trader following concerns over allegedly adulterated palm oil, reinforcing the agency’s focus on the product and its potential risks.

The wider concerns have also attracted the attention of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

NAFDAC Director-General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, has stressed that allegations about unsafe or adulterated food should be subjected to scientific testing and regulatory investigation before definitive conclusions are reached.

NAFDAC has also expressed concerns about the adulteration of palm oil with azo dyes and other hazardous contaminants, particularly products packaged and sold through informal markets.

The position places greater responsibility on state consumer protection and food safety agencies to strengthen market monitoring and enforcement within their jurisdictions.

Research into palm oil adulteration has highlighted the difficulty of identifying contaminated products through appearance alone. Adulterants can be used to make lower-quality palm oil appear more intensely red, exploiting consumer preferences for deeper colour.

The detection of such adulteration therefore requires appropriate analytical techniques rather than reliance solely on visual characteristics.

For consumers, food-safety experts and regulators recommend buying palm oil from trusted and traceable sources and reporting suspicious products rather than attempting to establish their safety through informal tests.

Unusual colour, odour, excessive sediments or other abnormal characteristics may justify further investigation, but none of these signs alone proves that palm oil is adulterated.

The issue also highlights a broader challenge facing the Nigerian food system: ensuring traceability and regulatory oversight in informal markets, where products can pass through several stages between producers, processors, wholesalers and retailers before reaching consumers.

At the Lagos food safety conference, stakeholders called for stronger enforcement, improved laboratory capacity, better traceability and greater cooperation among regulators, businesses and consumers.

LASCOPA’s intensified surveillance is consequently expected to focus on identifying specific cases of adulteration, collecting samples for proper testing and taking enforcement action where violations are confirmed.

Residents have meanwhile been encouraged to remain cautious when purchasing palm oil, avoid unverified claims about supposedly dangerous products and report suspected cases through official regulatory channels.

The Lagos government’s latest warning is therefore a call for greater vigilance over food safety and palm oil adulteration, rather than a blanket warning against consuming genuine palm oil.

Lagos Intensifies Surveillance as Adulterated Palm Oil Raises Food Safety Concerns