Health
In search of cheap cooking oil, many families consume red oxide unknowingly
Unless something is urgently done to arrest the sliding economy, which has skyrocketed the price of everything in the market, many households in Nigeria may soon suffer one form of food poisoning or the other.
It may not be that they intended to do so, but the search for cheaper alternatives to goods and services whose prices are on the rooftop will drive the unfortunate development.
Without any pride in doomsday prophecy, the families that are likely to suffer this unfortunate health hazard will most likely contact it through consumable food items.
Most prominent among them is the palm oil – a cooking oil, popularly known as red oil.
In the past few years there has been a gradual increase in the price of palm oil, but most recently the increase has jumped beyond 100 per cent.
Yet, it is even hardly seen to buy.
Apparently as a result, many families are not only looking for one to buy but also where to buy it at a cheaper rate.
This scramble has resulted in many dubious business people indulging in the adulteration of an item which is almost indispensable in preparing a good meal, especially the African soup.
It was discovered that the most common ingredient used in adulterating the palm oil is a dangerous chemical known as red oxide – a reddish pigment from Iron (III) oxide.
A palm oil dealer said: “Some sellers mix a chemical called red oxide with original palm oil to become more red to increase profits.
Twenty-five litres of palm oil is now over N50,000So to increase profits, some greedy sellers add the substance to some brands of palm oil that are not very good, to make it look reddish and sell it like the real palm oil.
However, the adulteration results in the sudden change in the color and taste of the oil when it is left over, a day or two.
A palm oil dealer said: “Some sellers mix a chemical called red oxide with original palm oil to become more red to increase profits.
Meanwhile, the implications are telling on people’s lives.
Mrs. Yemisi Oloyode, a fashion designer, complained to us: “Recently everyone in my house has been complaining of a runny stomach . I was really bothered and decided to stop using the palm oil I bought from the market recently.
I bought that oil outside my usual customer who supplies me original palm oil, because she ran out of stock.
“At first, I suspected the colour of the oil and the taste was also different.
“Another reason I fell for it was because it was cheap. “But, from the day I started cooking with it, every member of my household was complaining of stomach bite and runny stomach. However, when I stopped using it, the complaints stopped. “It was then I knew the problem was from the palm oil. I assessed it again and discovered it looks weird.
“It is only God that will save us in this country,” she added. Mrs. Gladys Douglas, a teacher, said: “I have been very cautious with whatever I buy in the market these days.
“Few weeks ago , I bought red oil and poured some inside a bowl. After cooking, I took the bowl outside for washing. But within a few minutes, the remnant of the oil in the bowl had turned to pink.
“I had to return the gallon of oil to the seller. She was pleading with me, explaining that what she sold was what she was supplied.
”Palm oil has become so expensive that a 5 litre keg that used to cost N5,000 is now N12,000. That is even depending on the location one is making the purchase.
Another palm oil supplier who only identified himself as Mr Jay confirmed that the adulterated oil has permeated almost all markets where food items are sold, and that it takes very vigilant and experienced customers to know the difference between them and the original palm oil.
He said: “It is very rampant in the market now and many people hardly know.
“It is not only the retailers that are indulging in the adulteration, even suppliers do such to increase profits.
“I buy my palm oil from a credible source and let my customers know why my product is more expensive than others.
“But you know Nigerians love awoof. They prefer patronizing the fake palm oil sellers.
“Only a few people can identify the original palm oil. ”Red oxide is a common name for iron(III) oxide (Fe2O3), a reddish-colored pigment. It is naturally found as hematite, a major iron ore, and is widely used in paints, pigments, and other industries.
Mr. Adeolu Aderibigbe, a Science Laboratory Technician, warned that the chemical is very dangerous to human health and can lead to food poisoning if consumed in large quantities.
“Human ingestion of red oxide is very dangerous to health because this chemical is used in some industries to manufacture products like paints. “It can cause food poisoning and impair the kidneys, liver, and central nervous system.”
Health
Gov Mbah Invest in world-class Enugu International Hospital
The hospital, equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment and advanced digital and electronic systems, is expected to attract top medical professionals from Nigeria and around the world.
Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, says the Enugu International Hospital is designed to provide world-class healthcare services to people across all socioeconomic classes.
The Enugu International Hospital is located at Rangers Avenue, Independence Layout, Enugu.
Mbah stated this during a pre-launch tour of the facility ahead of its official commissioning.
The hospital, equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment and advanced digital and electronic systems, is expected to attract top medical professionals from Nigeria and around the world.
The governor expressed satisfaction with the quality of the equipment installed at the facility, saying the investment would help position Enugu as a medical tourism hub in Nigeria.
He said the hospital would also help reduce the number of Nigerians travelling abroad for specialist medical treatment while creating an environment that would encourage Enugu-trained medical professionals to return home.
According to Mbah, several Enugu-qualified medical practitioners based abroad have already reached out to express interest in working at the international hospital and contributing to the development of the state’s health sector.
The governor further said the facility would create job opportunities for medical graduates, healthcare professionals and other workers, with the potential to boost economic activity in the state.
During the tour, Mbah inspected several specialist units, including the Precision Oncology and Nuclear Medicine Unit, specialised surgery theatres, intensive care units, advanced diagnostics and imaging, and renal care and dialysis facilities.
He also toured the cancer, heart and vascular, nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, neuroscience, and renal centres.
Accompanied by the Director of the facility, Professor Sam Agwu, and other specialists, the governor received briefings on the various services and specialist care the hospital is expected to provide.
The Enugu International Hospital operates as a comprehensive quaternary care facility with more than 300 beds and was established to provide world-class specialist healthcare.
The facility is expected to strengthen access to advanced medical care, support medical professionals, create employment and contribute to Enugu State’s emergence as a destination for medical tourism.
Health
Bayer to establish reproductive health commodities plant in Nigeria
The plant is expected to manufacture family planning commodities locally, reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported products, creating jobs and contributing to economic growth.
•The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate
Global pharmaceutical company, Bayer, is to establish a reproductive health commodities manufacturing plant in Nigeria, with the facility currently under construction in Anambra State.
The plant is expected to manufacture family planning commodities locally, reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported products, creating jobs and contributing to economic growth.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, disclosed this in Abuja at the inauguration of the High-Level Inter-Ministerial Platform (IMP) on Family Planning, Health, Human Capital and Sustainable National Development.
Pate described the investment as evidence that President Bola Tinubu’s Executive Order on the pharmaceutical sector was beginning to attract significant investments in local pharmaceutical manufacturing, diagnostics and health technology.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of FP2030 West and Central Africa Office, Dr Alain Damiba, described the initiative as a major step towards strengthening cross-sector collaboration to improve health outcomes and accelerate Nigeria’s socio-economic development.
Damiba commended the Federal Government for adopting a whole-of-government approach, noting that the new platform demonstrated that health and family planning were national development priorities and not issues that should be left to the health sector alone.
“Health, including family planning, is a smart investment in human capital and Nigeria’s future,” Damiba said.
Source: The Guardian Nigeria
Health
Medical Oxygen Killing More Than 600,000 Nigerians Annually
The project started its first phase by carrying out intervention work in three industrial areas of the state: quarry industrial site in Onueke, rice mill in Abakaliki, and timber market
•Professor Jesse Uneke
The Vice Chancellor of David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUS), Ebonyi State, Professor Jesse Uneke, has estimated that more than 600,000 Nigerians died yearly due to issues relating to the administration of medical oxygen.
Uneke, who is the Nigerian and State Lead/Principal Investigator for the EQUI-RESP Africa Research Project, disclosed this in Abakaliki, during the First Stakeholders’ Engagement Event/Co-Creation Workshop on Medical Oxygen Economy organised by the university in conjunction with the University of Edinburgh, UK, supported by the National Institute for Health and Research (NIHR), UK.
He explained that the administration of medical oxygen issues was happening because there was no platform where stakeholders in the medical oxygen space could come together to discuss the research-policy interface and see how to contextualise some of the strategies against the problems for the country.
“That is why, in this phase of this project, we have decided to start with this kind of stakeholders’ engagement. I am excited that we have every key stakeholder in the medical oxygen space represented here,” Uneke said.
He opined that the project started its first phase by carrying out intervention work in three industrial areas of the state: quarry industrial site in Onueke, rice mill in Abakaliki, and timber market.
This project has to do with respiratory health, and the idea is to come up with strategies that will lead to interventions that will improve health outcomes as far as respiratory health is concerned.
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