Saturday 5 December 2015

Palm Oil or Pam Oyel?


I came back home yesterday evening and settled down to 'whack'  my ona g'ishkapa (tuwon shinkafa) with alakpa (gbegiri) meal. On swallowing the first ball, i felt a sharp slap on my jaws, that wrong-palm-oil kind of slap and my evening was ruined. I just had to eat because of the fish, pepper, beans etc plus the time and effort my younger sister Joy had put into the cooking, but I was vexed in spirit.
What heightened my vexation was the fact that this palm oil was bought from our neighbour who came to advertise that she now sells good palm oil. "Mummy I dey sell original palm oil now" she said, but as it turns out, she either knows not what she is selling or she simply is hungry to earn a bad reputation.
Let me iterate the experience of this 'original palm oil' in question.
Upon opening the 5 litre gallon of original palm oil, mum saw that it had congealed which made her to doubt its 'originality' but felt she should give it a try.
Mararaba district in Nasarawa state happens to be quite hot in the afternoons, hot enough to melt an exposed candle stick, but that same afternoon when Joy was preparing the soup, the oil, unlike liquids had taken its own shape inside the gallon. Placing the gallon over raw flame to melt the oil was time wasting since the gallon was filled, so she had to squeeze, shake and hit the gallon held upside down before lumps of palm oil dropped into the steaming pot of soup constituents like animal droppings which still took time and stirring to dissolve completely! Palm oil!
I then inquired on how such a bad product was processed and was alarmed to discover that the ideal palm oil is being mixed with akamu (pap) in order to boost its volume and thickness. Akamu! For some of us who believe we've never taken pap in our lives well..... I believe in miracles.....
Is it that our palm oil producers cannot process enough palm oil to satisfy the customers and hence resort to this 'health threatening' alternative or is it simply an act of greedy wickedness?
The Golden Rule asserts that everyone should be treated in equality and fairness but this rule is being observed mostly by none, myself included. These producers actually produce two brands of Palm oil. The 'family and friends' brand and the market brand. This family and friends brand was what Adam actually named 'palm oil', the market brand can and should be named something else. Like 'pam oyel'
There are certain things that manufacturers ought not to adulterate. I am okay with wristwatches, jewelry, shoes, bags and the likes being adulterated but never what is ingested into the human body. Things like food, drugs and drinks should be off limits inasmuch as adulteration is concerned. Affordability should not even be debated upon here.
As for the consumers of pam oyel, I advice you guys to stop patronizing such products at the detriment of your health. I am not an expert in the palm oil business but I hope those who are would help drop a comment or two. Here are a few tips I would like to share though :

  • Never buy palm oil that feels like butter. The cold weather is not responsible but the akamu inside is. 
  • Never buy oil from a boiling drum/pot at any distribution/retail outlet. It's not a post manufacturing nor a purification process but rather a technique used in keeping the oil in the second state of matter i.e. liquid. 
Confirm palm oil no dey sleep even for Jos, and the scent alone dey cure some sickness.
Let's work together and get bad palm oil out of our markets. 
God bless Nigeria. 

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