Illegal palm oil is bad for your health

West Africa’s most important edible oil from a plant comes from the fruits of the Elaeis guineensis (oil palm). It is a common ingredient in many local dishes and is also very good for you and can help with health problems.Illegal palm oil is bad for your health

Palm oil comes from the red pulp of the oil palm fruit. It is high in vitamin E and beta-carotene, which gives it its unique colour.

Palm oil is loved for its many uses and health benefits. It is commonly used in cooking in many African countries, including Nigeria, where it makes food taste better and look better.

Unfortunately, some dishonest traders have been adding Sudan IV to their products to make them look better. Sudan IV is a synthetic dye that is usually used in factories to colour things like waxes, plastics, and oils.

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Sudan I, II, and III are all synthetic dyes that are known to cause cancer and mutations. Sudan IV is part of the same family.

These dyes are not allowed to be used in food because they are bad for your health. Even though it is illegal, Sudan IV is still used in food processing because it can change the colour of palm oil to make it look better, which makes consumers want to buy it.

People who use this dangerous dye are putting their health at great risk. This shows how important it is for regulatory agencies to step up their monitoring and enforcement efforts to protect public health.

Researchers have found a link between Sudan IV, a man-made dye, and cancers of the liver and bladder because it can change genes.

In 2003, Sudan IV was found in chilli powder and other ingredients, so the European Union and other global regulatory bodies made it illegal to use in food.

The goal of these steps is to protect public health by keeping food supply chains from getting contaminated, since these dyes are very dangerous to your health in the long term.

Because it is bad for health, both Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have banned the use of Sudan IV in food.

Even with these efforts, dishonest businesspeople are still using the dye in palm oil to give it a nice, deep red colour, tricking buyers who don’t know any better.

In separate interviews with Saturday PUNCH, nutrition experts and public health doctors said that Sudan IV is a popular choice for dishonest traders who want to make palm oil look better because it is cheap, bright, and easy to get.

Professor Ignatius Onimawo, an expert in public health nutrition, says that palm oil is one of the most important edible oils in West Africa.

It is taken from palm fruits and is commonly used as a healthy topping for local dishes. It also has healing properties.

He did, however, complain about the dishonest addition of Sudan IV to palm oil, which made the product less safe.

“The illegal use of Sudan IV to make palm oil look better has raised serious health concerns,” Onimawo said. “While palm oil is incredibly healthy and good for you, adding harmful dyes to it hurts consumer trust and is a major public health risk.”

The don, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of Ave Maria University, Abuja, said that adding Sudan IV to palm oil is a bad idea that makes people more likely to get very sick.

“Sudan IV is very bad for your health when it’s in food like palm oil, especially for people who are already weak. “To protect public health, we need strong regulatory measures, effective ways to find problems, and immediate medical help,” he said.

According to James Oloyede, Director of Nutrition Services and Health Education at the Osun State Primary Health Care Development Board, adding Sudan IV to palm oil is bad for your health. This backs up what Onimawo said.

“Why change the colour of the oil when it’s meant to be eaten as it is?” “Because the NAFDAC has banned it, it is not good for the body,” he said.

He said that using Sudan IV for a long time could have effects that build up over time and could cause cancer and other health problems.

Oloyede also said, “These chemicals could build up in the body and make people sick if they are taken over time.” They aren’t good for you and shouldn’t be in our food.

He said that finding Sudan IV in palm oil can be hard because you need to know how the product naturally works.

“Natural palm oil smells strong and is orange-red to yellow in colour.” The fact that Sudan IV changes these traits can be a warning sign, he said.

Professor Tanimola Akande, an epidemiologist and public health expert at the University of Ilorin, said the dye was even more dangerous.

Sudan IV is not safe for people to drink and is not approved for human consumption. “It can hurt organs like the liver and kidneys and cause cancer,” he said.

Akande, who used to be the National Chairman of the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, said that the ban on Sudan IV should be kept in place.

He also told people to be careful and not buy palm oil from sources they can’t trust.

All experts agree that the best way to protect public health is to teach both producers and consumers about the risks of Sudan IV and keep strict regulatory oversight.

Experts and scientific studies have once again pointed out how dangerous it is to mix Sudan IV into palm oil. These show that this illegal synthetic dye is very bad for your health.

An epidemiologist at the University of Ilorin named Professor Tanimola Akande told government agencies like NAFDAC to step up their surveillance.

“A lot of work should go into making both consumers and people who do this harmful practice more aware of it.” “Those involved might not fully understand the risks they are putting people in,” he said.

Akande stressed how important it is to be careful and said that it can be hard to find Sudan IV in palm oil. “It’s not easy to tell when Sudan IV has been added, so people should be careful, only buy from reputable sellers, and be wary of red oil that doesn’t look or taste like the kind they’re used to,” he said.

A study in the Journal of Pharmacy and Bioresources went into more detail about how Sudan IV hurts kidney function.