Statement of the week: There is quite a bit of messing around with food in Thailand
Anyone walking on a Thai market will see large quantities of fruit and vegetables that all look equally healthy. But is that really so?
A few months ago I was walking with my girlfriend at a Thai market and wanted to buy half a watermelon. This one looked nice red. She warned me that chemicals are used to give watermelons that deep red color. She selected another one for me that would not have been treated.
Since then I've started paying more attention and I'm shocked how often I read or hear about the questionable quality of food in Thailand. In short, there is a lot of messing around with it. A number of facts.
- There are almost no rules for the use of pesticides in Thailand. Poison that has been banned in the EU for years is still happily sold and used in Thailand.
- Large batches of fruit and vegetables from Thailand are regularly rejected because they contain too many pesticides.
An expat told me that some street stalls use old and polluted cooking oil. They pick these up for free at fast food chains such as KFC and McDonald's; they are filtered once and reused. It is a fact that old cooking oil is very harmful to the human body and contains carcinogens. I can't confirm if this story is true, but it wouldn't surprise me.
The reaction below to the message to be careful with eating insects also makes you think.
Martin B:
My Thai partner almost died from it after eating this delicacy in Chiang Mai. For my partner, the probable cause was the poison used to trap or kill the insects, whether or not in combination with highly contaminated cooking oil. In total, the illness required 10 days of costly hospitalization.
The Thai Pesticide Alert Network (Thai-PAN) has previously reported that large amounts of pesticides have been found on vegetables sold in supermarkets and fresh markets. Even if they were labeled “safe” and “Quality” logos were stuck on them to reassure the consumer. The tests were performed on cabbage, broccoli, water morning glory, parsley, long beans and chili peppers, randomly collected from supermarkets and mobile fresh markets. Part of the packaging bore the 'Q-for-quality' logo.
Thai-PAN reported that in Huay Khwang (a neighborhood in Bangkok), produce had the highest concentrations of pesticides in all types of vegetables. The dose of residual poison was even 202 times the amount allowed by European guidelines.
The risk of contamination depends on the type of vegetable. Parsley is especially notorious. Tests showed five types of pesticides including carbofuran, chlopyrifos, EPN and methidathione, even 102 times higher than the European limit. Just three drops of EPN or a teaspoon of carbofuran can be fatal.
Source: www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Dangerous-levels-of-pesticides-will-poison-food-pl-30191243.html
A few more facts:
Agricultural poison
Thailand imports 160.000 tons of agricultural poisons annually, costing the country 22 billion baht. According to the World Bank, Thailand is the world's fifth largest importer of chemicals. About 70 percent of the pesticides used there are extremely dangerous and banned in the West. As a result, 81 percent of water reservoirs are contaminated. The same goes for food.
The increased use of chemicals is disastrous for the environment and the health of farmers. It is universally agreed that the intensive use of chemicals leads to hardening of the soil, wipes out organisms and contaminates waterways, groundwater and the entire food chain. The use of agricultural poisons has also been linked to the rise in cancer, diabetes and many other diseases. The Ministry of Health says the number of farmers and consumers with dangerous levels of pesticide in their blood is on the rise.
(Source: Bangkok Post, July 12, 2013)
Furthermore, here are a few more sources about the food safety of fruit and vegetables from Thailand:
- www.agf.nl/artikel/96546/Exotic-vegetables-from-Azi%EB-too-many-plant protection products
- www.agf.nl/artikel/90162/Thailand-Bad-quality-cause-of-declining-export
- www.thailandblog.nl/nieuws/veel-gewasbeschermingsmiddelen-iaanse-groenten/
These messages reinforce the impression that things are not all right with the rules for food safety in Thailand. Hence this week's statement: There is quite a bit of messing around with food in Thailand!
Perhaps you believe that it is all a bit exaggerated or you endorse the statement. So what's your opinion? Share it with us.
About this blogger
-
Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and a lover of good music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
My motto: "Don't worry too much, others will do that for you."
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Hi
You are absolutely right. These facts are known The expat literally goes down on his knees at the deadly smile of these residents.
Best controlled countries are in WESTERN EUROPE and in US.
Rules are respected there.
Multi Nationals in the world do nothing else. How about adding sugar and fat to food to get the consumer to what they call the “pleasure point”. Believe me, this has nothing to do with sex but with researching how much sugar and fat should be added to a food item in order for the consumer to consume more of it than necessary. Everywhere in the world (especially USA) you can see the bad consequences that have, more bad than what a negligible number of pesticides can do to your body. Not only in Thailand but also in the rest of the world you don't know what you're eating. What I find much more offensive is food safety here in Thailand. Bangkok seems like 1 big kitchen but don't look at how food is stored and how they handle hygiene. Apart from the fact that Asians in general and Thais in particular are big perverts.
Ronald is 61 years old, has lived in Thailand for 3 years. Worked in the dairy industry for 40 years.
this is an eye opener. I've never thought about it, but it really scares me. Of course I know about the food in Thailand that is chock full of flavor enhancers, but this is really different. In December I will go to Thailand again and will view the food there with mixed feelings
It seems to me that what you buy on the street or on the market will often be unclear what kind of contamination it contains. I wonder if anything is known about pesticide or antibiotic contamination of food sold in the major retail chains. More should be known about that. It is certainly a subject that keeps me busy now after a 10 year stay in Thailand.
I question the fact that you can get old frying oil for free at KFC and whether McDonald's old oil is a raw material for making soap, including toilet soap, and is sold to companies that collect it.
But you can also smell when they are frying whether it is old oil which smells quite strong and if you can see what they are frying they old oil foams and always fry much too dark.
It is a given that far too much is used, but we in the Netherlands have also known that time when DDT was used all the time that the beds and bedrooms were flashed with the flash gun that saltpeter went through the ground beef to get beautiful red to make tartar that chemical agents went through the fatty minced meat to still get a big meatball (vibrasol), What then went into the ragout and the cream soup to be able to freeze it. We had never heard of E-numbers, I just want to say that Thailand is years behind, they will get there and in the time of the DDT it was also said that it is stored in your body, I think there are still enough Dutch people who experienced this. I do not bachatalize the current situation, but how to change starts with good education, that is not enough.
Have a nice day Cees
Go to website https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/portal/index.cfm?event=SearchForm is the database of all EU food authorities RASFF. Do you have an advantage of your EU tax money.
At: type insert “food”, origin : Thailand, and under product category: fruit & vegetables and then at the bottom of hazard category “pesticides”. All reports of problems with pesticides in Thai fruit and vegetables since the start (1979) of this system will then be rolled out. ( fresh, canned, frozen ) Then just read through and draw your conclusions.
Here, of course, all the “caught” problems are included, not those that have slipped through the cracks. Incidentally: the importers and distributors are generally also very sensitive to these kinds of problems, if only: blockade = product destroyed, so money gone.
Exporters from Asia…… whahahahahahaha to… 100,00% perfect
Megha Sheth: we assure you of our best quality food and safety that we carry out.
We are into this business since long, have a good name to protect and we have always maintained our quality and safety measures. We are certified already for many years so there won't be a problem.
The Thai "inspection service" is as leaky as a colander without a bottom. For “domestic” only paper is often collected, especially with the word “Baht” on it. So for all fresh stuff you are almost entirely dependent on the sincerity of the seller. Organizations like Tesco, Casino (Big C), Carrefour cannot afford a scandal in any of their countries, but Local Shop Mum & Dad? ?
By the way: in NL you want everything without the slightest stain, don't you? How did you think that happened? Simple, kill all fungi and bugs, and NOT with "hammer-tap".
Everything that is canned is significantly more strictly controlled, if only by the canning company: it would accidentally end up in their export line. In addition, most export companies are BRC, IFS or ISO 22000 certified and are quite strictly controlled by independent globally operating organizations such as Bureau Veritas, DNV, SGS, TUV. So, washing, peeling, and sterilizing also removes 80-99% of the pesticides through that heat process (decomposes, just like the bacteria).
Remember: nature has provided a reasonably good protection: the shell. Always rinse well first and then your own hands. What comes INSIDE through the groundwater and the roots, that's a pity.
I totally agree with the statement. It is an alarming development. And it does not only concern vegetables, fruits and insects, but also fish, especially the Pangasius which is imported from Vietnam. The meat won't be any better. What about the rice? Has it also been treated with pesticides? How long do we have to live?
I think there is a gap in the market for organic products. Also think that many Thai are up for that. Pay a little more but healthier. Or start renovating yourself, a number of expats do that too.
@ Robbie and others The situation with rice has been discussed many times in News from Thailand because of the discovery of methyl bromide residues, which are used to fumigate rice. See also News from Thailand of 19 Sept, 9 Aug, 26 July, 21 July, 19 July, 18 July etc. There is also organic rice on the market.
I also refer to the so-called farm markets where organically grown fruit and vegetables are sold, see: 'This is not a market, but it is a community', https://www.thailandblog.nl/eten-drinken/markt-community/
@ editors:
I sent a response 1 minute ago under my name: Robbie. Instead of being able to read that my comment is awaiting moderation, I get to see Erik's response, complete with his email address, which would never be shown. This is where your system goes wrong somewhere. Please check and fix it soon. Robbie.
By the way, where did my comment go? I do not see him….
I think you should ask your provider about that. You have exactly the same IP address: 171.98.250.xxx (of course we do not mention the last three). Either you use the same computer/internet connection or there is something strange with your provider.
The plan to live in Thailand is becoming increasingly difficult to implement
Now I can't even eat it anymore. And it's hard to get around that
I always eat well when I'm there. Of course I can't see what's in it and what's involved.
I think we shouldn't worry too much about it.
You can hardly every time you buy food. Go to a lab to find out what's in it first.
A gap in the market for Expats who want to start a business. Organic vegetable
Greetings Kees
This is not where everything that comes into the Netherlands in terms of fruit and vegetables is irradiated.
yes and who is going to check that again .. organic products are being tampered with everywhere, even in the developed countries in Europe and America ..
Harry, what you write is correct and indeed the shell is a protection factor. Just put a Thai cucumber in a bowl of water for a while, that water just gets dirty from the pesticides.
Thailand has also had import bans from the European Union regarding their fruit, vegetables and farmed shrimp, but yes domestic sales continue.
Bread from the 7-11, that doesn't get moldy, milk past the date that doesn't break, I've often questioned it.
The remark of organic farmers in Thailand is simply not going to work in the short term, because the current varieties in the tropics simply do not mature sufficiently without pesticides. Incidentally, our own Wageningen Agricultural University is busy in the tropics, with seed breeding and improving production possibilities, but that also takes time.
We can raise the finger, but the Netherlands itself is still busy reducing the use of antibiotics in their meat production, which is also still much too high.
Unfortunately, Robbie is also right about his pangasius fish, which also applies to farmed salmon. Cees is also right, nowadays used oil is worth gold and is collected everywhere.
Nonsense.
Almost nothing is irradiated. In addition, it must then be stated on the label. Of the 85,000 reports in the RASFF system, only 385 are related to irradiated products, with something that was not in order, including irradiation not stated on the label. And that across 27 EU Member States, since 1997.
Answer Monday, July 30, 2012 9:51 AM from the NVWA:
We have continuously examined Pangasius for environmental contaminants and veterinary drugs for the last 5 – 6 years. And in one case we found a very small exceedance. I suspect that this is because the Vietnamese authorities are well aware that the EU has strict border controls. The other Member States do the same and they also find hardly any or no exceedances.
There is also a strong lobby from eg Urk against this fish species, which is a direct competitor of our flatfish industry. A few years ago, this also resulted in parliamentary questions that I have answered in the spirit of this e-mail.
Totally agree. How do you PROVE that the products you offer are organic? Only with a cardboard?
Did you want SKAL to come over from NL, for example, to investigate everything, for 3 years on the rules of EU 2091/92 = organic production method and indications http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/nl/consleg/1991/R/01991R2092-20070101-nl.pdf
Start thinking about $100,000 in research costs. Yes, that is also included in the price in the NL stores.
But.. you have to eat a lot before you get into trouble.
We grow Thai vegetables here, a kind of mushroom (large irregularly shaped), red chili peppers, small bananas and mangoes. All pure, so not treated with pesticides or other products and we sell them on the local market. They are eagerly bought, also because they are young vegetables and the bananas and mangoes are very tasty. It is not in large quantities that we grow all that and it is therefore only occasionally that we can market it. Mushrooms in particular are very popular, perhaps because people here believe that they can prevent or cure cancer. As long as people believe in that, we have a good market for it. So you see that it is perfectly possible to produce and market untreated food products. We don't get much profit from that, but it's not necessary for us either. And it doesn't take much work either, it all grows by itself anyway, except for the vegetables and the chilis, which need quite a bit of water every day.
If I understand correctly, many of the responses talk about the intensive control that takes place in the EU countries regarding the import of food from Thailand, Vietnam, etc., but that is not the point here. The question for me is not what is not checked in Thailand itself, but especially what is checked in Thailand itself and what can be found for us on labels in the large retail chains, for example. Or is nothing happening at all regarding control in Thailand itself and is there therefore nothing to be found about it?
Also pay close attention to the pork that is sold, even if you go early in the morning, it does not mean that it is fresh ???? Most pigs are still illegally slaughtered and not controlled
many hundreds of diseases die every year from eating really rotten meat.
Yes, we know, nowhere is safety as well assured as in Western Europe and North America. If you absolutely do not want to take any risks, it is best to go on holiday alone there, but then you miss half the world of choices.
Look around you and you know enough.
Dirt is dumped 1 meter out of the door onto the street and they are rid of it, what that dirt is makes no sense to them at all, and this is where all the misery starts.
Talk to a Thai about this, you will immediately notice their misunderstanding.
I live here and am more and more amazed at how they screw up their living environment.
There is still a lot of work to be done here, but unfortunately the clock is ticking.
Paul
Dear Erik,
I have been buying long-life foodstuffs (preserves, noodles, noodles) in SE Asia for the EU since 1977 as a purchaser from a discounter of German origin, and since 1994 as an independent importer. The Chinese CIQ is quite “difficult” : no container leaves the country without a health certificate from them.
In Thailand you have the “Oh – Joh” or something like that. You will see their approval mark on various long-life products in the supermarket: a number in a trapezoid, with a kind of flag in front of it.
In all those years I have noticed little or nothing of any K. v W. in Thailand, and rely on the BRC, etc. of the manufacturer and my own observations (company reputation, knowledge and skills, Quality Control, what does everything look like, what is their attitude towards hygiene).
Fresh .. is, in my opinion, reasonably “outlaw” and especially on the fresh market and whether an “envelope with content” matters with the rest?
On the other hand, response from an NL Dr. Ir. food technology, when we had crossed Thailand for inspections together for two weeks to my question: either we are overly busy in the EU, or next week all of TH will be down: “I am paid to uphold EU food safety laws, NOT to prevent, that 50% of the population dies with no power for 6 months due to the total loss of our own immune mechanisms”.
We live in the middle of it. The fact is that we have learned to try to eliminate that rubbish in Europe.
But can we change something here? Few.
Just watch and think about what you eat. Rinse greetings well, avoid tasty hormone chickens full of wrong food, peel fruit yourself. Avoid burnt junk and stuff fried in carcinogenic oil (yes they are oh so tasty and oh so cheap, sir), etc…
We all learned it so beautifully, but bad luck, we live in a different part of the world!
And if you ask me, that will take years.
This reaction is well put together, but for the sake of convenience we forget what kind of additives are used in the Netherlands, for example, to keep products on taste, smell and colour. It is not for nothing that more and more people are becoming ill, allergic to all those additives.
Of course the supervision and the rules in a country such as Thailand are too flexible, but this is not an isolated case. We don't have to go that far from home, Spain, France, where regulations are not handled so precisely either.
If you knew that Roundup is used inappropriately to destroy weeds and that this also penetrates the fruit, grapes, for example, you might be very shocked.
Tests showed that there were far too high concentrations of Roundup in the blood of the test persons after they had drunk certain types of wine.
There is a reason why people want to ban this drug.
What I do know and my Thai spouse always warns me about is that vegetables are not washed properly before consumption, especially in restaurants.
What we both notice, and then I'm only talking about in our area, that the biggest cause of death here is NOT motorcycle accidents or AIDS or old age but CANCER.
I am therefore also convinced after reading this and other stories that the use of pesticides has a very positive effect on the high mortality rate here in Thailand.
A few years ago, when I visited my wife's sister, I saw that DDT was still being used there.
My father also used it in the 60s in Holland at his allotment garden.
It has been forbidden to use that junk for many years, and certainly in Holland and the EU and the US
Jantje likes a strong drink is not good either , but eating can be even more dangerous .
I am now past 60.
Greetings Jantje.
Ah, Europe is overprotective and overclean. Just keep doing it. The more Hygiene the more diseases will be invented. Eat well and enjoy.
Am now married to a Thai lady expects that as a teacher she would have a little common sense
have but that is not the case. Bought me a deep fryer and after 8 baking sessions I replace the oil
drop in the rubbish bin here is no collection point for oil in Udon Thani my wife says very nice my mother
can use it for her food I say that is not allowed that is poisonous!
I had put this oil in cola bottles and three days later I saw it in the restaurant not far from us
the lady to use these, yes my wife says my mother is not allowed to use them from you have them on
given to my girlfriend from the food stall, she can use it well, farangs eat there very much
good food tastes good ? These don't even believe this lovely lady would ever do that!
As the only importer of herring in Thailand, I am always obliged to provide proof of a health declaration to customs before arrival.
Even if they are dead they must be healthy.
The joke is not cheap, so we cannot import smoked eel or mackerel for a few kilos of other fish.
For every other product we have to pay that proof again .
As a warning to certain people who take this in their luggage for friends or acquaintances, you can get in a lot of trouble if you don't have the right papers.
I did notice that during my visits to Isaan many people had cancer and diabetics.
The probable cause is that they eat pala several times a day.
They don't always have something else on our plate like we do, now they catch those fish to eat them after 1 year.
Stink it does.
When they visited me at home, they used the waste of herring to make it, these were fresh and they tasted good.
There was no smile but a burst of laughter as these people were enjoying a herring head.
You know very well that if the oil foams when frying, your food is no longer edible.
Anyone who didn't know that has now learned something.
I just wonder where all that old oil goes.
In NL. I could sell it because they turned it into other products such as soap.
I don't see it disappearing into the recycling here either.
That may be a new reader question.
I think I see it disappearing into a sewer towards the sea around me.
Certainly in a place like Pattaya, tens of thousands of liters will enter the sea per day.
Pangasius fish is farmed in various locations in the mouth of the river is a delta with many arms
some that flow directly into the sea are a chemical sewer thanks to china, others have reasonable
pure water but the fish itself eats everything is very easy to breed even eats its own excrement
in many countries there is an import ban, so that fish will not be that good, eat it at most once in a while
month mixed with other fish. this is very cheap fish here and nice fillets taste is not really good
but that is with most fish species from warmer waters the colder the environment the better the taste!
Moderator: Only respond to the statement please.
I have often been ill from shellfish such as mussels, prawns, etc. My Thai wife told me that some products are sprayed with formalin. Usually used to keep corpses in good condition
Dear Rene,
What your wife tells you can certainly happen.
Perhaps the names Formol and "Strong water" are also more familiar.
Whether that is the cause that you have become ill from mussels, prawns etc is of course something else.
You come into contact with Formaldehyde more than you might think.
Please read this and in particular – Contaminant in food. A bit about Thailand.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formaldehyde
Hello Cees,
Some of those things you quote are from "a few days ago"
And I know it's gotten worse over the years, but you'll agree that countless messages like this contradict each other again over time.
If you really don't take in everything that people write, but I mean everything, well then there's damn little left to enjoy.
And of that old oil, you are there yourself.
If a stall throws something in the oil and it completely disappears from view, yes that is bensapurene or whatever the name is.
Vegetables and/or herbs bought here, wash well
Colorings for meat have been used in the Netherlands for I don't know how long.
LOUISE
Louise I also told "In the Netherlands, we also knew that time when everything was used all the time." And here in Thailand right in the 60s in the Netherlands. I've lived here for 7 years now and I'm well-informed when it comes to nutrition. I eat everything with taste and deep-fry at home and not in palm oil but in corn oil or olive oil.
Have a great day and eat them with taste without worrying
Cees
BIO has many reservations about this. Have your own garden and know if there is no spraying there is little to harvest. The label was given quickly to be able to ask for more money. And the whole world revolves around money. Organic was still there before the war, when everyone still cultivated for themselves. After the war, too many people lied about the harmlessness of pesticides.
Buy fruit and vegetables at the large supermarkets such as Tops, Big C, TescoLotus, Makro. They have grown a wide range, “ordinary” and “organic”. Washing under the tap several times is recommended. Cook for at least 3 minutes. Avoid frequent eating of raw vegetables. Fry and stir-fry on high heat. Use rice oil: can tolerate up to 250 degrees Celsius without burning. Delicious in the fryer. When roasting, mix butter/margarine/olive oil with a dash of rice oil. Only eat out in urgent cases. In any case, no fried food is useful at markets, along the road, etc. With barbecue products, check whether the grid has been cleaned: the black caked meat residue is carcinogenic. Be careful in the fod courts. The designation "safe food" does not always cover the load. Also pay attention to general hygiene and whether pots and pans are cleaned in the household. The rag used to wipe tables and chairs is also often used to clean countertops of debris. Eat as little chicken as possible, no eggs. Pork is delivered open and naked with the pickup. Beef looks red because of the sulphite. The best is canned and EU imported.