26th August, 2015
Dr Celestine Ikuenobe, Director of Research, Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR), has warned against adulteration of palm oil.
Ikuenobe, who issued the warning on Wednesday in Calabar, at a workshop organised for palm oil producers in the state, said adulteration could pose health risk to consumers.
The director decried the adulteration of palm oil with chemicals used in dyeing of clothes, which he said was unsafe for human consumption.
He said that unless such unwholesome practices were checked, a major health disaster might occur in the country.
According to him, the adulteration is not only in palm oil, but also in palm seedlings sold to farmers.
“The palm oil supplied to the Nigerian markets and the diaspora is often adulterated with dye chemicals, which make such oil unsafe for human consumption.
“This act is unacceptable and unless something drastic is done, a health disaster might result in the country.
“Because of the low palm oil production in the country, we contribute nothing to the international global palm oil supply,” he said.
Ikuenobe called on farmers not to patronise people who offered them seedlings at a cheaper price but should instead, buy from the ministry of agriculture in the states.
He urged cooperative societies, farmers and growers, to interface with Solidaridad and ministry of agriculture in states, to access loan and learn best production practices to enhance their oil production.