Business » Economics
Home-grown buyers sold out
'Kitchen of the World' fails local buyers on food safety
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/eco ... s-sold-out (Graph)
* Published: 1/05/2010 at 06:29 AM
* Online news: Economics
The "Kitchen of the World'' is how the government always tries to promote international recognition of Thailand for its abundant food sources and unique cuisine.
But the fact remains that while the nation's food manufacturing and processing sector has served "the world's kitchen'' with safe, quality food products, domestic consumers are left to look after themselves when it comes to food safety, especially when the matter concerns contamination from toxic chemical residues, and the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
This means while authorities have invested more and more money and effort to promote international standards for food safety among exporters here to secure their position in the world market, little has been done on this front for local traders and producers.
Earlier this week, when groups of consumer representatives met one of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) executives to discuss the matter and seek solutions, they were given an honest response.
"We are incapable of controlling it,'' Tipawan Prinyasiri, head of the FDA's food control unit, told a session at the two-day consumer assembly held in Bangkok.
She was referring to controls on the presence in food of chemical residues and GMOs, as well as the problem of bad hygiene in food preparation.
As a result, the FDA, under the Public Health Ministry, has had to come up with desperate measures.
"To help minimise the risk of chemical residues, we have introduced campaigns such as educating consumers about the use of potassium permanganate to disinfect fruit and vegetables they buy,'' she said. Her remarks were met with silence from the consumer groups.
It is not just chemical contamination, she said. Consumers also put up with toxic additives and unhygienic food preparation.
"Make visits to food manufacturing sites of exporters here and you will see that their contamination control standards are acceptable internationally,'' she said. ``The problem with food safety exists within the domestic market and nobody can resolve it.''
On food safety, governments have often given priority to manufacturing and processing for export. Budgets are allocated less to the FDA and more to the Department of Agriculture (DoA), under the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry, she said.
The DoA is responsible for the safety standard of agricultural products for consumers as well as control of toxic chemicals. In reality, this agency should work with the FDA. But it seems to do otherwise, Mrs Tipawan said.
Browsing through the DoA website you will see that the agency dedicates most of its time and energy to the export sector. Despite that, Thai exporters still struggle to meet international standards over contamination with chemical residues.
This raises the question of what happens in the non-export sector which the department gives little attention to. To what extent are agricultural products in the domestic market contaminated with toxic chemicals?
It all starts with the farms. For years, the DoA has failed to cut down on the use of chemicals in farming, said Tassanee Verakan, of the non-profit Green Reform Organisation.
"The level of chemical use, either in the form of pesticides or fertilisers, in Thailand is high and has been increasing,'' she said.
Thailand spends over 40 billion baht a year on importing chemicals for farm use, she said.
The use of chemical pesticides in farms may kill insects but the toxicity remains in the environment.
"This means an adverse health impact on farmers and consumers,'' she said.
The World Health Organisation says the contamination of food with hazardous chemicals is a worldwide public health concern.
Contamination may occur through environmental pollution of the air, water and soil, such as with toxic metals, or through the intentional use of various chemicals, such as pesticides, animal drugs and other agrochemicals.
A case study already provided consumers with a warning. In 2008, the Chiang Mai provincial public health office conducted random blood tests on farmers and consumers there and found many of them had toxic chemicals in their blood at levels considered ``unsafe for their health''.
Biothai, a non-profit organisation working for sustainable agriculture, has warned consumers, saying those whose daily intake includes vegetables, fruits and foods contaminated with hazardous residues risk suffering health problems because certain chemicals used in farming have been found to be triggers for diseases such as cancer.
Witoon Lianchamroon, Biothai's director, told consumer groups that the availability of genetically modified foods in Thailand is rampant. Better regulations were needed so consumers knew what exactly is in the packages they are buying.
The Public Health Ministry's regulations on GMO foods cover products in which each of their first three key ingredients contains GMOs at levels of 5% and above.
It requires such products on sale in Thailand to display labels informing buyers of their GMO content.
But Mr Witoon said this measure is too soft compared with the stricter requirement in European Union countries where such labelling covers GMO content of 0.9% and above.
"Long-term consumption of GMOs can result in potential resistance of one's body to antibiotics,'' he said.
"Consumers have the right to be better informed about this.''
The regulation now covers only soybean and corn products.
Its use should be extended because recent research at Chulalongkorn University has shown that genetically modified crop plantations exist nationwide, said Mr Witoon.
Papaya and chilli grown in certain areas have also been found to contain GMOs, he added.
The consumer assembly concluded that there should be better control of advertisements and use of chemicals.
Laws and regulations on food safety should also be amended to introduce harsher punishments for violators.
Pete 
There we go, it's not our fault said the government spokesman. Note I say 'spokesman' and not 'spokesperson'. Women here can't be in that role.