A major problem currently facing consumers of palm oil in Nigeria is the issue of adulteration of the product. Adulterated palm oil has flooded the market and researchers have associated the product to the rising cases of cancers, heart disease and kidney failure. It is red and tasty. It is one of the basic ingredients in Nigerian traditional diets, from porridge to soups. It is in high demand and often adulterated. Adulterated palm oil is on the prowl. The business is booming but leaves organ damage and sudden deaths associated with cardiovascular diseases in its wake.
Mrs. Funmilayo Omoyajowo, working mother of one, said she has had nasty experience with adulterated palm oil. “ I remember when my friend prepared vegetable soup with palm oil for all four of us her friends. After eating it, all four of us, including our friend, who brought the meal purged seriously to stupor so that we were forced to ask our confused friend what she used to prepare the soup. We blame it on vegetable, not until when I later bought adulterated palm oil in the market,” she said.
It is feared that adulterated palm oil has contributed to the rising cases of cancer, kidney and other organs damage, heart disease and sudden deaths in Nigeria.
It has been shown that palm oil obtained from the fruit of the oil palm tree (Elaies guineensis) is the most widely produced edible vegetable oil in the world today. It is a common cooking ingredient in the tropical belt of Africa, South East Asia and parts of Brazil. Several studies have shown that in a bid to make more profits by improving the red colour of the oil and the quantity, unscrupulous producers and marketers use dangerous chemicals such as solvent red 24. Many palm oil producers use solvent red 24 as an additive to improve the color and market value of improperly processed palm oil.
Solvent red 24 (sudan IV, scarlet red) is a lysochrome diazo dye often used in coloring plastic, waxes, oil, fat among others. As food dye, solvent red 24 is considered an illegal dye, mainly because of its harmful effect over a long period of time.
Chief Dietician, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, Mr. Ogbona Obi Chimela said that the adulteration of palm oil might be time bomb ready to explode as palm oil has been found out to be a very important to man’s existence.
further explained, “it is a source of vitamin A in it as it has beta carotene in it. So it protects the eyes from disease called night blindness or total blindness. It is another ready source of energy as one gram of fat from it gives about nine joules of energy, other sources of energy do not have as much as that. It also act as lubricant to the food we eat so that it make it palatable as part of its aesthetical function.
“If it is true that they adulterate palm oil with chlorine, it would be dangerous to man’s health because chlorine is a bleaching agent. It could lead to peptic ulcer if it is added to man’s food as it could erode the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). There is a tolerable level of chlorine that man can take that it may not be harmful.
“Palm oil is fatty in nature. Hence, if chlorine is mixed with it, palm oil could store such chemical for a long time only to lead to health hazards later. It would affect the movement of food in the GIT and erode it overtime only to create wound called ulcer.”
So, how does one recognize an adulterated palm oil? is it from the texture, smell, colour or taste? find out in our subsequent publications. Keep a date with Nigeria Natural Health Online.
