Hey Foodies, welcome back.. 

So to my horror this morning, I got a text message from one of my uncles with the picture attachment below.

source:- East end Life (Tower hamlets council)


My heart jumped as I walked into my kitchen, open my cupboard and found I had the palm oil in  my cupboard. The good thing is I haven't used it, I have another brand I've used but this particular one hadn't been opened.




Just incase you do not know what Palm oil is, its  is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms, primarily the African oil palm Elaeis guineensis.

Palm oil is naturally reddish in color because of a high beta-carotene content. It is not to be confused with palm kernel oil derived from the kernel of the same fruit, or coconut oil derived from the kernel of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). The differences are in color (raw palm kernel oil lacks carotenoids and is not red), and in saturated fat content: Palm mesocarp oil is 41% saturated, while Palm Kernel oil and Coconut oil are 81% and 86% saturated respectively. (source wikipedia)



Now this article is from the local Tower Hamlets East End life Newspaper and basically this oil is contaminated. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has warned that the Zomi oil contains an illegal harmful dye Sudan IV that reacts with DNA causing cancer.

As Africans we do not only eat palm oil, we also use palm oil to treat bodily odours and diseases.
When a child is born, Palm oil is used to wash out all the dirt on the newborns body to avoid future body odour. This is our tradition that has been on for years and years and will continue for years to come.

Palm oil is meant to be a natural substance that does not contain any preservatives, coloring or any chemicals at all.

Please pass this message on to your loved ones who eat Palm oil and most especially the stores selling them, if you do have this palm oil at home, please get rid of them immediately.

Thanks for reading :-)