How Safe Is the Palm Oil we consume?

That there is adulterated palm oil in the market is no news. The news, however, is that despite the public knowledge nothing has been done. Perpetrators of this dastardly act still carry it out with impunity. From all intents and purposes, they see themselves as being in business. For as long as it generates cash and puts bread on the table, that’s fine.

The knowledge that thousands die or suffer unduly due to the greed of some doesn’t seem to matter, either to these merchants of death or to anyone else. The onus, therefore, falls on consumers to be careful about what they buy from the market and what they put in their mouths.

Here are a few tips to help you identify the original palm oil from the adulterated one:

1.       The original palm oil, when boiled or cooked does not smell, where as the adulterated palm oil due to the chemical added has an offensive smell like something that has fermented and left in an aluminum container for so long.

2.       The adulterated palm oil when bleached emits more smoke than normal which can invariably lead to choking.

3.       When cooked or bleached the adulterated oil foams and brings out bubbles.

4.       Or better still go for the palm nuts and extract your oil if you can stand the stress. 

      Since it is not so easy to get the natural palm oil, consumers must ensure that they pay a little more attention to what they eat. It is only when we get a little fussy about these things that we begin to expect and possibly experience the true changes that we desire. This includes being our own ‘health inspectors’ rather than wait for the government and its agencies, especially when it is evident that they are totally inept at handling such matters. 

     This does not apply to palm oil alone. Most food stuffs and fruits we consume have some chemical contents that are harmful to the body- the plantain, the frozen chicken, the bitter leave, the apples, to mention a few.

     The time to take action is now!