By Moses Nosike

With the mindless quest for profit in the Nigerian retail market, the production and sale of unbranded consumables has become the order of the day. Undiscerning consumers often fall victim to the antics of unscrupulous manufacturers, consuming products which might turn out toxic in the long run. Small wonder Food Science experts recently disclosed that about 200,000 Nigerians die of food poisoning yearly; while many others are at risk of doing so before long.

“There are many avenues through which food can be contaminated, and when people eat these foods they will have problems which may result in death,” renowned Food Science Expert, Professor Alfred Ihenkunronye, was quoted as saying recently.

Today, a variety of vegetable oils can be found in the retail market, many of them adulterated. In most cases, consumers have no option but to purchase them due to availability and cost implications. Branded vegetable oil is costly, so the average consumer often opts for retail variants sold in used jerry cans and bottles. So the estimation that about 70 per cent of Nigerians get their cooking oil from unreliable sources is hardly surprising.

Even as the trend gets worse, Mrs. Abisola Olasumbo Adekoya, Deputy Director, Food Products and Others, National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), recently alerted consumers to the fact that unbranded vegetable oil is unsuitable for consumption and could have negative health implications. She listed heart disease as one of such problems due to high cholesterol content and other fattening agents in some kinds of oil.

Meanwhile, the grim development has not been lost on Dufil Prima Foods Plc, makers of leading noodles brand, Indomie, which recently moved to plug this gap by unveiling a vegetable oil brand which is not only affordable but also comes with numerous healthy spin-offs.

“Unbranded oil, which the majority of Nigerians consume, is often adulterated. The people in the lower economic stratum don’t have access to branded oil because it is very expensive. Power Oil will check all of that by giving consumers quality at affordable prices,” said Mr. Deepak Singhal, Chief Executive Officer, Dufil Prima Plc.

Singhal added that besides giving Dufil Prima Plc a much larger share in the vegetable oil market, Power Oil – which is non-fattening and cholesterol-free – is designed to suit the purchasing power of varying consumers in the market. Indeed, Power Oil is available in a 140ml Sachet and 750ml/3-litre bottles, depending on buyers’ preferences.

“Dufil Prima Foods has always been known for innovation, and Power Oil will place us firmly ahead of our competitors or potential ones the same way all of our existing products have over the years,” affirmed Singhal during the launch of Power Oil in Lagos which was witnessed by key regulatory bodies and the media.

As regards quality, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria’s Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) is geared towards ensuring that manufactured products comply with industrial standards and counterfeit products are not dumped in the market. Engr. Fred Akingbesote, Head, MANCAP, SON, who also graced the Power Oil launch, affirmed that the product had scaled a very demanding tripartite process and could be reckoned with in the market.  “Our quality standards include tracking products from the raw material to processing and finished product stages and Power Oil has met our standard criteria adequately” he declared.

As Power Oil makes its revolutionary foray into the market, its producers guarantee that consumers will heave a sigh of relief from adulteration and get value for their money like they richly deserve.