Palm oil sold as Olive Oil

Story: Albert K. Salia
THE high demand for Olive oil in churches for anointing purposes provided an excellent opportunity for a 42-year-old man, Collins Uche, to parade refined palm oil as the product, from which he is believed to have made a handsome fortune.
The label, which espouses so many spiritual claims, is believed to have hoodwinked many churches and chemical shops into buying the product.
Some of the inscriptions on the label directing users as to what one could use the oil for include “money drawing, stop evil, fast luck, ask and receive, do as a I say, success, crowd puller, finance success, love me alone, control and fire of love”.
Other claims are “healing, expel witches, all-purpose protection, victory, confusion, peaceful home, destroy poison, harm me not and dominate”.
All the claims come with Biblical readings from the Psalms for users.
Although it is manufactured in Accra, the product is labelled as a product of Greece and made by Baco’s Company Acris (Greece).
Apart from being sold to chemical shops and enterprises, the manufacturers said they supplied the product to churches for their anointing services.
Although it was labelled Baco’s Olive Oil, the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) said the product was bleached, deodorised palm oil.
Besides, the product had not registered with the FDB, contrary to PNDC Law 305 (b) which stipulates that no product could be manufactured, imported and distributed in the country unless it was registered with the FDB.
Uche, who is currently in police custody, said churches patronised the product and told FDB officials he was only doing business.
The Deputy Chief Executive of the FDB, Mr Kwamena Van-Ess, told newsmen yesterday after the arrest of the suspect that the activities of the suspect came to the attention of the board six weeks ago and it decided to monitor his activities.
He recalled that a similar thing happened six years ago but the perpetrators took cover after a newspaper had published a story about the presence of fake Olive oil in the country.
He said this time round, the FDB decided to complete its investigations before involving the media.
According to Mr Van-Ess, no food could be labelled to be having spiritual claims.
He said the FDB would have to undertake a product recall by advertising for dealers in the product to return the products to the offices of the FDB throughout the country.
He also appealed to churches which had already bought the product to return them, since the claims made on it were false.
He appealed to consumers and enterprises to endeavour to always look out for the FDB registration status of products before buying them.