Deadly palm oil: How greedy traders poison Nigerians for profit

Palm oil traders at Otto market, Lagos Photo Janet Ogundepo

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Palm oil traders across Nigeria are adulterating cooking oil with industrial dyes, water and harmful chemicals to maximise profits, turning a household staple into a silent public health threat. PUNCH Healthwise investigations reveal that the dangerous practice, rife in Lagos markets and other major cities, has become routine, exposing millions of Nigerians to risks of organ damage and cancer. JANET OGUNDEPO and IDOWU ABDULLAHI report

When Remi Odumola woke up on a Saturday morning in August 2025, she had planned to welcome her husband back with a sumptuous vegetable soup, efo riro. Her plan was just to make a delicious soup for her husband, who had been on a work trip for two weeks.

Earlier that day, she had been at the popular Mile 12 market to buy the needed food items, particularly stock fish, assorted meat, palm oil, locust beans, and fresh vegetables, to ensure she treated her husband, who had complained of not eating well on his trip, to the best homemade food.

Back at home and in her kitchen, she had seasoned all the proteins to perfection, and everything was heating up at the desired rate. The trouble began the moment she poured the oil into the pot. Instead of frying gently, it began to crackle aggressively, as if water had been trapped inside.

She ignored it, thinking perhaps the palm oil was fresh from the mill and needed extra time to settle, and she continued to add other necessary ingredients to make up the vegetable soup.

But something was missing as the cooking progressed; the aroma that should have filled the air wasn’t there. Curiously, Odumola lifted the lid off her simmering pot of efo riro; she knew instantly that something was wrong.

The aroma, normally rich and inviting, was strangely faint. Additionally, the palm oil that was intended to give the vegetable soup its signature look had turned into a dull, almost orange tint.

Instantly, she knew something was off about the oil. Cooking, which has always been a joyous routine, turned painfully arduous as the palm oil ruined her dish.

“Normally, when I buy palm oil from the market, I check for the smell and colour. But that day, the woman I usually buy from was not around. Another person convinced me that her oil was original. The bottle even looked fine. I didn’t know they had mixed something inside,” she told PUNCH Healthwise.

But the biggest shock came at midnight. She said her husband began to feel sharp pains around his stomach.

She said, “At first, I thought it was something else. But when my husband started having stomach upset, I was afraid and blamed myself for his ordeal because a nice treat had turned into a health crisis for my husband.”

By the next morning, she said the entire pot had developed a strange film on top, and the soup had begun to ferment.

“When I touched the soup, it was already sticky. The taste had changed completely. I had to throw the entire pot away. I wasted vegetables, fish, meat, everything because of adulterated palm oil,” she said.

Bad oil, dirty oil

Odumola is not alone in her ordeal. Stories of adulterated palm oils have become rife among many Nigerian families who use palm oil to cook. The experiences of many food vendors, chefs, and palm oil users, who spoke with PUNCH Healthwise, mirrored how adulterated palm oils continue to silently infiltrate Nigerian markets, putting the health and nutrition of consumers at risk.

To determine the extent of adulterated palm oil sold in major markets, PUNCH Healthwise visited two major food markets in Lagos State: Otto Market in Oyingbo, Ebute Metta, and Mile 12 in the Kosofe Local Government Area.

At these markets, PUNCH Healthwise investigations uncovered the troubling practice of adulterated palm oil in circulation, a daily offering to Lagos residents and beyond.

Drum oil, mixed oil

At the heart of the bustling Otto Market, an open yard stretches wide, cluttered with towering blue polyethene drums, commonly referred to as plastic drums, and dozens of yellow jerrycans, many of them dented, stained, and crusted with thick, reddish residue from repeated use.

The containers dominate the landscape, forming makeshift aisles through which traders, labourers, and buyers weave with practised familiarity. The ground was darkened by thick patches of oil-soaked sand and scattered debris that hinted at long-term contamination.

Amid the organised chaos, the traders work swiftly. One of them tilted a drum of oil forward to pour some oil into a sieve, with its contents draining into a smaller container held in place with his foot; another poured oil from a black basin into a drum. On and on, the cycle is repeated.

The activities show the unhygienic, unregulated, and unsupervised palm oil distribution and sale.

After observing the activities, one of our correspondents walked up to one of the traders, identified as Kelechi, and posed as a newcomer in the business who would want to buy large quantities of drums and kegs of palm oil for retail.

He confirms to one of our correspondents that he sells only to persons who would buy them in drums.

When asked about the state where the oil is milled, the trader responds, “From my side in Ihiala, Anambra State.”

Ihiala is a town and a local government area in southern Anambra State. According to the state government’s website, it is “the heart of commerce in Anambra, a vibrant hub of trade, culture and community spirit in southern Anambra State.” Palm oil is one of the community’s major produce.

Kelechi boasted to our correspondent that his oil is unadulterated, but later revealed that he had fellow traders in the market who mixed dyes with theirs.

“Some of them add colours, and some don’t. Some of the retailers who buy from us also mix them with dyes,” the palm oil trader disclosed.

As the conversation continued, Kelechi revealed, “If you see the ones that have been mixed with dyes, it will be very red.”

He further revealed, “Palm oils from Cotonou, Benin Republic usually ‘sleep’, so some traders mix them with oils that are lighter, making it a combination of two different oils.”

At Mile 12

Our correspondents gathered that the cycle of palm oil adulteration starts with water, as it is often added first because it is cheap and difficult for unsuspecting buyers to detect immediately.

PUNCH Healthwise investigations revealed that dyes and colouring chemicals come next. Both, it was gathered, are used to disguise the watery texture and brighten the oil so that it appears fresher and richer than it really is.

To reinforce the colour, our correspondents gathered, some traders go as far as adding small amounts of iron-based substances that give the oil a deeper red hue.

For instance, at the Mile 12 market, one of our correspondents, who moved from one cluster of sellers to another, pretending as someone who wants to start the business as a wholesaler, found out the existence of thriving adulterated palm oils openly woven into the market’s daily life.

It was gathered that the adulteration of palm oil has become a routine, with some suppliers and sellers mixing oil with water, dye, and artificial colouring to increase volume and profit margins.

It was also learnt that it is a cycle driven not just by sellers seeking profit, but by consumers who unknowingly fuel a trade that compromises both health and trust.

Azo, Sudan dyes

Findings show that Sudan III and azo dyes are the most widely used colourants added to palm oil. Health experts and researchers further affirmed that these dyes are unsafe for consumption.

According to a chemical-pharmaceutical company, CIFGA, azo dyes represent 70 per cent of the dyes used in the textile industry.

A paper titled “Sudan dyes and their potential health effects,” by Alim Nisa et al., explains that Sudan dyes are synthetic, oil-soluble red colourants that are banned for use in food in Switzerland, Japan, Europe and the United States.

The study noted that Sudan dyes I, II, III, and IV, along with their breakdown products, pose serious health risks because they are teratogenic, genotoxic, and carcinogenic, properties that can damage DNA, harm unborn babies, and increase the risk of cancer.

Experts, who spoke to PUNCH Healthwise, asserted that adulterated palm oil can cause digestive problems, allergic reactions, organ malfunction, and in some cases, death.

Grim reality

Nigeria requires more than 3 million tonnes of palm oil each year but produces only 1.4 to 2.5 million tonnes, leaving a wide supply gap, according to statistics.

This shortfall forces the country to rely heavily on imports, including from neighbouring Benin Republic, and spend hundreds of millions annually to meet domestic demand.

This reliance on imports, PUNCH Healthwise found, was fuelling industrial malpractice.

The National President of the Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria, Joe Onyiuke, confirmed to PUNCH Healthwise that the increase in adulteration was caused by scarcity of palm oil and the pressure on the local market, noting that Nigeria now produces only about two per cent of global output.

He asserted that adulterated palm oil is being sold openly in major markets, describing the situation as a “national disaster” and a “national emergency.”

Onyiuke, who doubles as the Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture, further explained that the competition between domestic, commercial, and export markets has worsened the shortage, pushing criminals into the adulteration business.

The OPGAN president revealed that Nigeria’s palm oil production has plummeted from 40 per cent of global output to just 2 per cent, while internal consumption stands at 2.4 metric tons against production of only 1.4 metric tons, a shortage that has created ideal conditions for adulteration to flourish.

Onyiuke explained that adulteration often takes place in warehouses and stores, where middlemen mix genuine palm oil with dyes, garri, and other unknown chemicals to increase volume, thicken it, and make it appear very red.

He also faulted poor coordination among regulatory agencies, saying, “There is no market intelligence. Even if they have, they don’t care. They don’t go after them,” he said.

He warned that adulteration will continue unless Nigeria strengthens production and tightens regulation.

To close the supply gap, OPGAN has proposed a national replanting plan, noting that Nigeria is the only major palm oil-producing country without one.

The association plans to cultivate 1.5 million hectares across 27 oil palm-producing states over the next five years, partnering with smallholder farmers who contribute 80 per cent of national production.

He said the plan could make Nigeria the world’s third-largest producer and eliminate the import gap currently costing the country approximately $600 million annually.

“Once we have enough, this will stop. The pressure will not be there,” Onyiuke assured.

Also, an expert, Greg Odogwu, proposed that the recently launched National Agricultural Land Development Authority to generate carbon credits from palm plantations and other agricultural hubs, would help oil palm production and push the nation into self-sufficiency.

Oil robbery

Several sellers, who spoke with our correspondents, admitted that adulteration has taken root in the palm oil supply chain.

A wholesaler at Mile 12 Market, Lawan Ahmed, told PUNCH Healthwise that the adulteration does not start and end within the market.

According to him, some of the palm oil arrives in Nigeria already compromised with different things.

He claimed that certain batches imported from neighbouring countries undergo mixing, dilution, or colouring long before entry into Nigeria.

Ahmed, who had been in the trade for over 20 years, said that for sellers who hadn’t understood how to deal with suppliers who engaged in the sharp practice, once they receive an adulterated product, they just entrench the practice rather than confront their suppliers.

“They don’t want losses. If they buy bad oil, they just mix it too, so they can sell it back,” he told PUNCH Healthwise.

Ahmed explained that sometimes, out of every 100 gallons purchased, at least 10 may already be diluted with water.

With these, he said, the cycle continues, and each new adulterator becomes part of the system, passing the contaminated product further down the supply chain.

Ahmed revealed that some customers rely heavily on taste and aroma when buying, adding that many dip a finger into the oil or sniff deeply into open containers, convinced that their senses can expose adulteration.

What they do not realise, he noted, is that colouring and even flavour enhancers are sometimes added to mask defects.

Another seller, simply identified as Aunty Vero, pointed out that during the peak of scarcity, the market becomes a free-for-all.

She claimed that with limited supply and heightened demand, the pressure to satisfy customers drives traders deeper into adulteration.

“Kegs from different suppliers are watered down, dyed, and rebranded to ensure availability and meet customer expectations. If you are not careful, you may run into loss and also sell bad products to consumers,” she told PUNCH Healthwise.

Traders confirm practices

To further confirm the practices of the oil traders in Otto market, one of our correspondents spoke with other oil vendors at the market. Unarguably, one would expect that since there is a big oil vendor in the market, the retailers would be buying from them, but the case appears different.

A few meters away from the oil traders’ stall is an elderly woman, popularly called Mummy in the market.

When asked where she gets her palm oil from, she said, “I bring it from Akwa Ibom. It is original and handmade (locally made). I don’t buy oil from the vendors at the back,” Mummy said.

She said, “It’s drum oil. It is not good when cooked with beans or ogbono. They supply companies making soaps with the oil, but when it is used to cook, it might not kill the consumer, but it is not good for the body because our bodies don’t need chemicals.”

The elderly trader confirmed that although the vendors have some good oils, they mostly mix the palm oils with dyes and other chemicals to make them thick and very bright red.

At another stall, another trader whose name could not be ascertained declined being a retailer of adulterated oil.

“I don’t get it from those at the back. This oil is not mixed. I got it from Ihiala in Anambra State,” she said.

Blame game

During a conversation with another wholesaler at the Mile 12 market, referred to as Mama Chinonso by customers, she emphasised that buyers themselves fuel the problem.

According to her, customers, especially caterers and household users, insist on purchasing only extremely reddish palm oil.

This demand, she said, is rooted in the widespread belief that ‘very red’ oil is the original, premium grade, while naturally coloured oil is inferior.

“People want very red oil. If you bring natural palm oil, they complain. They want it bright. They want it red. So people will keep mixing because that is what sells,” she told PUNCH Healthwise while showing our correspondent both the adulterated and original palm oil.

“The taste of original palm oil is totally different from adulterated ones. The adulterated ones are just coloured. Most of the oil in Lagos has colouring and dyes inside,” she added.

Ruined meals galore

Speaking with several consumers, they recounted how adulterated palm oil ruins their meals and exposes families to unseen health dangers.

According to them, the adulteration affected the aesthetics of their meals, something that deeply matters in Nigerian cuisine.

For Mrs Ifechukwu Ibinabo, her plan to cook some native rice for her young children was ruined by the palm oil she hurriedly bought at the market.

“When I poured the oil into the pot, I was suspicious that something was wrong. By the time I added the rice and finished cooking, the colour was looking so unnatural. I poured a little on my hands and it stained my hands and cloth badly. I had to discard it,” the mother of two told PUNCH Healthwise.

Meanwhile, Mrs Olamide Odukoya, a caterer in the Ojodu Berger area of Lagos State, had woken up earlier that bright Saturday morning in March 2025 to prepare her special ofada stew she had been booked to serve at a client’s wedding party.

To the surprise of the 42-year-old caterer, who runs a small food business, the stew turned out differently the moment it started to simmer.

Instead of releasing its familiar rich, smoky aroma, the pot of ofada stew began to foam excessively as it boiled.

She said the foam left an unpleasant chemical taste that lingered even after she tried to wash it down with water.

What she did not know at first, but later discovered, was that the cooking disaster was caused by adulterated palm oil.

“I bought a 10-litre keg because I had two events that week. At first, I noticed the colour was somehow too red, almost shining, but I thought it was because the oil was fresh. I didn’t know that the colour was from dye.

“As soon as it started boiling, the oil started foaming, like when you put detergent in water. The taste was bitter, metallic, and the smell was offensive. I had to cancel the entire batch,” she recalled.

She had to refund her client’s payment and buy fresh ingredients at a time when food prices are at an all-time high.

“It wasn’t only about the money. It was about my reputation. Imagine a caterer delivering food that tastes like a chemical. That would have destroyed my business,” she told PUNCH Healthwise

Also, a food vendor on Obanta Street in Mile 12, who doesn’t want her name in print, recounted several experiences with adulterated palm oil.

According to her, the sharp practices have ruined many of my stew, with customers complaining bitterly.

“With adulterated palm oil, the soup won’t come out nice. Instead of being bright, it fades as if there was no oil in it at all. For that batch, my customers complain bitterly.

“I have had several experiences with palm oil. When used, the adulterated palm oil foams, while others are extremely reddish because of the colouring,” she said.

She explained that getting original palm oil in Lagos is becoming strenuous.

“Nowadays, thick palm oil isn’t readily available; you can only get those from far away. Even the thick ones, when they’re brought to Lagos, are often diluted by most sellers to make more profit,” she said.

Also, a mother of two, Fehintola Abidoun, said she first noticed a strange smell while heating the adulterated palm oil.

“Imagine you’re making stew and the first thing you notice is a strange, sharp smell, not the normal rich palm-oil aroma. It smells like the chemicals you smell when you buy new plastic.

“When I started frying, the oil began to produce excessive smoke, thick and choking, way more than what good palm oil normally gives. By the time the food was ready, the colour looked too bright, almost artificial. And the food has this strange aftertaste that makes you keep drinking water,” she told PUNCH Healthwise.

The health cost

On her part, Mrs Nnenna Michael said the weird taste she got from her soup when she used adulterated oil still lingers in her memory.

“The smell was different from the good palm oil; it had a subtle scent of engine oil.

The oil was very foamy, like I added detergent to it, when I was frying the stew,” she said.

Meanwhile, another woman, Mrs Hajarah Orolade, said she suffered stomach discomfort after eating her meal made with adulterated palm oil

“The food didn’t taste well, actually. It gave me a bad smell, and the look of my meal didn’t come out well. After eating it, it gave me stomach discomfort for three days,” Orolade said.

Consumers at risk of cancer, organ damage -Experts

Providing insight on the health implications of consuming adulterated palm oil, a consultant endocrinologist and Dean of the Faculty of Clinical Sciences at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Idi-Araba, Prof Olufemi Fasanmade, condemned the addition of unapproved chemicals into edible oils.

The medical expert explained that while international standards exist for food colorants, preservatives, and additives approved by regulatory bodies like the Food and Drug Administration, many Nigerian traders bypass these protocols entirely.

“Some of them are just formulated in somebody’s backyard,” he revealed, noting that similar unapproved dyes are also being used to colour chicken and other foods sold at roadsides.

Fasanmade stated that because oil is lipid-based and cell membranes throughout the body are similarly structured, poisoned or contaminated oil travels through the bloodstream to accumulate in organs such as the liver, brain and the heart, where fat naturally resides.

The don stressed that the health implications become even more severe considering that fatty foods already pose health risks when consumed in excess, promoting weight gain, fatty liver disease, and cardiovascular problems.

When asked whether widespread adulteration could contribute to rising non-communicable diseases in Nigeria, the consultant endocrinologist said, “Certainly it will. The reason we are having more cancers in the country and worldwide is because there are greater amounts of pollutants, and there are also more poisons in the soil and in the water.”

The endocrinologist urged vigilance among consumers and called on NAFDAC to intensify market inspections and impound substandard goods.

He urged the public to be suspicious of food products with unusual colouring, saying, “If you are seeing oil that is more golden than gold, palm oil that is redder than red, food that has unusual colour, that is not natural. You have to be suspicious and careful.”

‘Adulteration, threat to food safety’

The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Consumer Advocacy for Food Safety and Nutrition Initiative, Prof. Olugbenga Ogunmoyela, says food adulteration is the deliberate addition, removal or substitution of ingredients in food for economic gain at the expense of consumer safety and nutrition.

He described food adulteration as “one of the most common threats to food safety in many developing countries, including Nigeria.”

The food and safety expert stated that the use of synthetic dyes and colourants was the most widespread form of adulteration, noting that while some dyes are approved for food, many that are used in adulterated foods are cheap, readily available, and industrial-grade chemicals meant for textiles, plastics, leather and non-food applications.

Ogunmoyela stated, “In palm oil specifically, traders add dyes to mimic the deep red color of natural, nutrient-rich oil, creating a dangerous situation where foods look appealing but contain toxic chemicals. The same pattern occurs across other foods, including Sudan dyes in chili pepper, Rhodamine B in zobo drinks, and industrial yellow coloring in garri.

“These substances are not approved for human consumption and pose serious health hazards, including organ damage, hormonal disruption, and increased cancer risk.”

‘Nutritional Robbery’

The CAFSANI president, Ogunmoyela, further stated, “From a food safety perspective, adulteration introduces chemical contaminants, increases the risk of microbial growth, and undermines traceability, making it difficult for consumers and regulators to ensure the oil’s safety.

“Nutritionally, the practice diminishes the natural benefits of palm oil, misleading consumers about its quality and potentially contributing to deficiencies. Beyond individual health, widespread consumption of adulterated oil can erode public trust in the food system, increase the burden on healthcare, and complicate regulatory oversight.”

Before purchasing palm oil, Ogunmoyela advised buyers to check for the reddish-orange colour of natural palm oil, thickness and consistency, and the earthy, slightly nutty aroma and taste.

He urged Nigerians to buy from a trusted brand or retailer rather than open-market bulk oil, check for fortified oils, which are often regulated and less likely to be adulterated, and avoid oils that appear too cheap or overly bright, as this can indicate dye addition.

The CAFSANI founder called for urgent action through strengthened enforcement by NAFDAC and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, improving testing capabilities, raising consumer awareness, training producers and vendors and regulating the importation and sale of non-food dyes.

‘Toxic additives in palm oil’

A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, James Oloyede, condemned the practice, stating that those involved were only interested in maximising profit at the expense of people’s health.

He explained that the use of dyes in palm oil alters its natural state, leading to negative implications for consumers’ health and nutrition.

Oloyede, a former Director of Nutrition Services at the Osun State Primary Health Care Board, said azo or Sudan dyes are used to enhance the colour of palm oil and make it appear redder to unsuspecting buyers.

“People use recycled cooking oil, which is a way to increase the quantity. Once cooking oil is used, it contains some harmful degraded substances. People add non-edible oils, such as argemone oil, which can cause blindness when taken in large quantities. Some people add non-edible substances such as transformer oil and paraffin wax to increase the quantity of the palm oil,” Oloyede said.

The registered dietician stated that the consumption of foods cooked with adulterated oil has dire consequences for the health and nutrition of individuals.

“The azo dyes being used are carcinogenic. It has been found to induce tumours, leading to cancers. It can damage the liver and kidneys and trigger cardiovascular diseases and blood disorders in consumers,” Oloyede said.

He added that consumers of adulterated palm oil are at risk of food poisoning, digestive problems, allergic reactions, peptic ulcers, neurological issues, infertility, and death.

The dietician further noted that the consumption of adulterated oils alters the lipid profile, increases cholesterol levels, and lowers immunity, making people more susceptible to illnesses.

Regulatory silence

When contacted on Saturday, the General Manager of the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency, Mr Afolabi Solebo, declined a telephone interview, insisting on an office visit for any response.

He briefly stated, “We are comfortable with our achievements when it comes to protecting consumers in Lagos State.”

Meanwhile, efforts to obtain NAFDAC’s response proved unsuccessful. The agency’s Resident Media Consultant, Mr Sayo Akintola, requested the questions via WhatsApp on Friday but had not responded as of press time, despite multiple reminders

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