Ghana Association Develops Apps to Safeguard Against Carcinogenic Red Palm Oil Dye

The Artisanal Palm Oil Millers and Outgrowers Association of Ghana has launched an app to safeguard against a potentially carcinogenic red palm oil dye, the Oils & Fats International reported on August 10 citing Modern Ghana report recently last month.  The Ghanaian association developed the app to enable consumers to trace the source of the palm oil and producers.  Although banned as a food pigment by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) due to its carcinogenicity and mutagenicity, the red palm oil dye Sudan IV is used in Ghana to enhance the colour of palm oil, according to the report.
    
The Artisanal Palm Oil app would perform two functions, Paul Amaning president of the association, was quoted as saying. Firstly, the app would allow customers to order palm oil and have it delivered directly to their homes and, secondly, a QR code would help verify the palm oil’s source and prevent consumption of any oil containing Sudan IV, he said. 
   
Derived from the fruit of the African oil palm tree, red palm oil has a red/orangey color and is used extensively for cooking in Africa due to its distinctive taste and color, according to Eat Well Abi.  Unlike palm kernel oil, which was the clear oil extracted from the kernel inside the fruit, red palm oil was extracted from the flesh of the orange fruits.