Princess Njie, a resident of South Atlantic in Bakau, walked into the offices of the Daily Observer yesterday with samples of adulterated palm oil bought from the Serrekunda Market.

The Daily Observer had received similar complaints last month when members of the Operation No Compromise Committee of Serrekunda Market, discovered some adulterated palm oil on sale at the market. Ara Jatta, the president of the committee, had called on vendors rid the market of the bad palm oil. But it appears as if wisdom has not entered into the ears of some unscrupulous vendors, who have continued the trade in such “poor quality palm oil” which constitutes a potential threat to public health.

Narrating her story in an interview with the Daily Observer, Mrs Njie said one of her younger sisters bought the palm oil on Tuesday at the Serrekunda. To their dismay, she said the colour of the palm changed from its normal red colour to light orange, when her sister was frying some fish in the kitchen. She said her attention was drawn to this bizarre situation, prompting her to bring her concern to the Daily Observer.

According to her, the implications propelled them to inform their  neighborhood about it. She argued that good palm oil, when heated, exhibits a curry colour (light yellow) and this was not the case with the one they bought.  

She also stressed the need for the Department of State for Health to investigate the matter through a thorough inspection of the different kinds of palm oil on sale at the Serrekunda Market.

She expressed fear that the “tampered with” palm oil poses serious health implications, as the product is widely consumed by many Gambian households.

She told the Daily Observer that she is taking the sample of the bad palm oil to the Food and Hygiene Unit at the Department of State for Health, as was advised by her neighbours.