Investigations conducted by Nightwatch shows that Fambul oil company battles with poor environmental hygiene that affects the oil while in the process of distribution.
The poor standards of the environment in which the oil is produced made it unfit for human consumption as it contains serious impurities.
The company produces oil and soap and they have plans to produce margarine another food stuff to be consumed by the public. The refinery and boiler departments which have a total of 23 workers play a major part in the production of the impure and polluted oil.
To conceal the impurities contained in the oil, workers in the company have devised a method of transferring the oil from transparent five-gallon containers to yellow ones.
The company’s move deceives hundreds of customers. Bleaching Earth, a sub-standard chemical imported into the country is used to clean the palm oil which is later taken to the market for sale.
Accusing fingers directly point at Mr Rajesh, the company’s production manager as the man behind the mess. As the polluted and impure oil continues to flourish in the market, the health of Sierra Leoneans is at stake. The impurity of the oil has also been linked to the unsafe nature of the environment in which it is produced.
A source says the work in the facility is risky considering the unsafe heavy-duty machines used by the employees.
The refinery’s temperature stands at over 290 degree and that safety gears meant for the workers are not supplied by the company’s authorities. By virtue of the dangerous conditions in the refinery, the exposure to health hazards measures high every day.
Workers especially blacks are less motivated evidenced in the payment of beggarly salaries compounded by threats of dismissals.
The perpetual fear and intimidation into which the workers are paced made it extremely difficult for the workers to do due diligence.
The managerial deficiencies the company grapples with, to a large extent, badly affect the quality of product they put out for sale.
The country’s food monitoring agency, the Sierra Leone Standards Bureau seems clueless of the operations Fambul Oil Company which endangers public health.
As the polluted Oil continues its way into the market, traders in Freetown have raised concerns about the production and sale of the sub-standard oil.
Traders say the oil can cause health problems for consumers.
A trader at Dove Cot, Mariatu Mansaray explains to
Nightwatch how she disposed Fambul Oil badly affected her health, family members and customers had she consumed it.
“I bought Fambul the oil once, but I found out that it is not suitable for human consumption. The next day, I decide to throw it away in order not to allow others to see it,” she said.
“The oil is tasteless and full of particles and above all, it has a colour that is quite different from the oil other companies we buy,” Madam Mansaray stressed.
She also expressed fear for consumers in the provinces who have developed unwavering loyalty to the Fambul Oil.
They are clueless of the dangers and health Hazards riddled with the oil.
“They do not want to know whether Fambul oil is good or not, they are just eating. It is too sad,” she said.
At the Bombay Market, Ya Kadiatu Kamara, a customer of the Fambul oil company calls on owners of the institution to live up standards.
Investigation continues in subsequent editions.