The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) has warned residents to be cautious when purchasing palm oil following concerns over increasingly sophisticated methods of adulterating the widely consumed product.
The warning was issued on Monday, September 21, 2026, following a technical presentation at the Lagos State Food Safety Conference and Exhibition 2026 by Dr Nurah Oseni, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Food Technology at Auchi Polytechnic.
Oseni, who presented a paper titled “Palm Oil Adulteration: Emerging Risks, Detection Strategies and Regulatory Control,” said palm oil is particularly vulnerable to adulteration because of its high trading volume, consumers’ preference for deep-red oil as an indicator of quality, price differences and informal market practices.
Among the emerging risks identified were the use of potentially carcinogenic Sudan and Azo dyes to alter the colour of palm oil.
She also raised concerns about the practice of blending palm oil with recovered or recycled oils, including spent cooking oil, as well as the use of combinations of adulterants designed to make detection more difficult.
The expert further warned about possible fraud involving product labels and batch records, highlighting the need for stronger surveillance and improved testing throughout the supply chain.
LASCOPA General Manager and Chief Executive Officer, Afolabi Solebo, urged Lagos residents to remain vigilant and report suspected adulterated palm oil and traders involved in such practices through the agency’s official channels.
Solebo said market surveillance would be intensified across Lagos and warned that anyone found selling adulterated products would face prosecution under the relevant laws.
Consumers were also advised not to rely solely on the colour of palm oil when determining its quality. Oseni explained that genuine palm oil may naturally separate into layers, with the lower portion appearing orange to red-yellowish rather than uniformly deep red.
However, she stressed that visual inspection alone cannot establish whether palm oil has been adulterated.
She recommended a more comprehensive detection approach involving risk-based screening, rapid physicochemical and spectroscopic testing, followed by laboratory confirmation where necessary.
The warning comes as LASCOPA steps up surveillance of markets across the state to identify unsafe and substandard food products.
Residents have consequently been advised to purchase palm oil from trusted sources and report suspicious products or traders to the appropriate authorities.
The Lagos alert specifically concerns adulterated palm oil and the potential presence of harmful substances, rather than a blanket warning that all palm oil being sold in Lagos is unsafe.