A video circulating online showing a man mixing a large quantity of palm oil with dye has sparked widespread outrage, prompting calls for urgent intervention and regulatory enforcement by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

The footage, which first surfaced in late November, shows an individual adding concentrated dye to palm oil to enhance its red colour.

Medical professionals and concerned consumers have raised alarms over the health risks of the practice, warning that it could cause cancer.

Popular health influencer and medical doctor Chinonso Egemba, known as Aproko Doctor, addressed the video on Monday, describing the act as “wickedness” and linking it to broader public health challenges in Nigeria.

“This is wickedness. What do you mean you’re putting dye inside palm oil just so that it will look red? And then you’re selling it to people, knowing that what people are actually drinking or putting in their food is not actual palm oil but something mixed with dye.

“There are certain dyes that are actually carcinogenic, which can actually lead to cancer in some people. So, when you hear things like our life expectancy in Nigeria is 50-something years old, these are part of the reasons,” he said.

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Aproko Doctor also criticised the lack of regulation in the informal market, pointing to underfunded enforcement agencies that struggle to track unregistered vendors.

“This particular person is probably not registered. There’s no way you’re probably going to find this person. Yet, their products are entering the market in a way that is unregulated.

“People are suffering from the effects of this because the local officers who are supposed to be hunting down this type of person are probably underfunded. They don’t have any funds to do what they’re doing. So, most times, they’ve gone to find another work rather than actually ensuring our health as Nigerians,” he added.

Dr Yonni Johnson, who tweets as #CoddasO, echoed the concerns, saying: “Adding dye to palm oil is not ‘business,’ it is slow murder. Many of these dyes are carcinogenic, damaging the liver, kidneys, blood and increasing long-term cancer risk.”

He stressed that genuine palm oil derives its natural red hue from carotenoids, not artificial chemicals.

Aproko Doctor also demonstrated a home test for detecting adulterated oil, showing that pure palm oil separates cleanly from water, while dyed oil leaches colour into the water.

“We should not be doing mathematics to cook food,” he lamented.

However, some users cautioned that even this DIY method may not be fully reliable.

#jiboladev noted on X: “The kind of dyes used are usually the lipophilic azo dyes (lipophilic meaning they dissolve well in oil, but not in water). I think this DIY test could be used, but should not be seen as conclusive for the absence of dyes in the oil!”

Some Nigerians reacting to the video pointed out that consumer demand for intensely red palm oil often drives vendors to adulterate the product.