Potatoes from Cha-Am market smell of human excrement

[thebears]

This is not a wind-up - but a genuine question. For some months we have been buying very large and tasty potatoes from the excellent market in Cha-Am.

However, every time when opening the bag, irrespective of whether we keep the spuds in the refrigerator or on the kitchen worktop, they really smell of human excrement.

I'm by no means a farmer and I don't know if this is reasonable or not, but I'm just very concerned that these spuds have come into contact with excrement, since they were uprooted. Is it possible that spreading excrement on the land, which I'm sure farmers have to do everywhere, the potatoes are being impregnated by it?

Today I decided to wash them really well, before putting them away, but this has only caused the smell to increase. Normally the smell is dormant when they're in the refrigerator. However, today they're very stinky, but nevertheless I've just put one in the oven, and as always, I'm sure the spuds will taste just fine. Can anyone advise please, because I know this is Thailand and standards are not always maintained as they might be? Thanks.

[Spitfire]

Remember the Kimchi problem in China or Korea a while back with there being human excrement being used as fertilizer?

This reminds me of a recent scenario that my Mrs mentioned to me the other day. She was with a mate and bought some rambutan fruit from a local market and they both were convinced that it had some freaky chemical (formalin or something) in them or the sellers were not playing with a full deck of cards as when they ate it it their lips went numb etc.

Personally I don't buy stuff from most Thai local markets as I just don't trust them, maybe most are OK, but they are no regulations on anything, it's just pay the stall rent sell what you've got, no-one checking any quality on anything, including meat (what type of).

Secondly, the reason I like buying food and other things from decent malls etc is because everyone pays the same and they are better with the quality angle, even if you have pay a bit more. Something I keep telling the Mrs but as you all know, old habits die hard and telling a Thai woman to be careful what she buys at an open-air food market is the same as telling a piss-head not to buy curry.

Even though the local markets are a seductive part of the life/culture here, there are no guarantees on what you are buying. Has it been grown properly? Have the used chemicals to grow it to it's present state because there are too many bugs or the soil is deficient? Many questions to contemplate.

How do you know the the so-called pork sausages on sale are really that and not dog/horse/goodness knows what? No-one is checking man.

[migrant]

My ex wife was Korean and, as Spitfire mentioned, they do use human excrement as fertilizer.

A lot of restaurants here in the states soak their potatoes in cold water, perhaps that will help along with the wash?

[thebears]

My ex wife was Korean and, as Spitfire mentioned, they do use human excrement as fertilizer.

I thought that it was usual for human excrement to be used on fields back in UK. It certainly used to smell like it And these spuds smell exactly the same, there's no mistaking it for animal variety. It smells like old toilets!

[pharvey]

Remember the Kimchi problem in China or Korea a while back with there being human excrement being used as fertilizer?

Certainly used in China, and I'm bl**dy sure several other countries across the world - some that would possibly be a surprise.

Personally I don't buy stuff from most Thai local markets as I just don't trust them, maybe most are OK, but they are no regulations on anything, it's just pay the stall rent sell what you've got, no-one checking any quality on anything, including meat (what type of).

I would certainly still buy from local markets, despite understanding your concerns. I guess having traveled extensively in China, Africa and India amongst others, I'm used to seeing similar problems in the supermarkets..... where do you draw the line?

Something I keep telling the Mrs but as you all know, old habits die hard and telling a Thai woman to be careful what she buys at an open-air food market is the same as telling a piss-head not to buy curry.

Spot on SF!! My Chinese wife is exactly the same!!

How do you know the the so-called pork sausages on sale are really that and not dog/horse/goodness knows what? No-one is checking man.

Having seen a few factories/plants in the UK and Europe, I don't think you'd really want to know what goes into ''Pork Sausages'' anywhere!!

[Terry]

There is nothing new in using human detritus as fertilizer.

As a kid, I remember my father buying bags of 'Mogden' from his 'gardening club', which he used to grow his potatoes in.

Fabulous spuds - the likes of which I have not tasted since.

What was 'Mogden'?

Yep - you've guessed it - dried human shite from the Mogden Sewerage plant in S.W. London.

Later - in my 20's - I worked for the Thames Water Authority (TWA), Metropolitan Public Health Division - in London, designing and constructing sewerage pumping stations and treatment plant. One of the big 'earners' for TWA was the sale of dried sewage 'cake' as fertilizer.

You could say that I have always been in the shite

[Terry]

Having seen a few factories/plants in the UK and Europe, I don't think you'd really want to know what goes into ''Pork Sausages'' anywhere!!

So what else does your local butcher do with all those testicles, udders, excess fat, bits of gut, and other non consumable (to western tastes) articles

[migrant]

Having seen a few factories/plants in the UK and Europe, I don't think you'd really want to know what goes into ''Pork Sausages'' anywhere!!

So what else does your local butcher do with all those testicles, udders, excess fat, bits of gut, and other non consumable (to western tastes) articles

Don't want to know!!

[STEVE G]

Across the river Trent near to where my parents live in Nottingham is the Stoke Bardolph sewage works.
They have a system whereby the sewage is digested by microbes and then the resulting slurry is used as fertilizer on an adjacent area of farmland. They inject it into the land using a sort of plough attachment behind a large tractor.
I suspect the Thai version is more basic!

[PeteC]

I always remember that line from Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" ....

"....A slight disorder of the stomach makes them cheats. You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!'".....

Perhaps it was indeed not an underdone potato! Pete

[bozzman101]

where do the septic tank cleaner guys dump there crap when the tank on the lorry is full????????? a spud field in ch-am? possibly

[Takiap]

A mate of mine back in the UK told me that as a youngster, he used to empty septic tanks and they would simply go and spray it out over the fields. Not sure if it's still done nowadays though.


Spitfire....I can't comment on the pork sausages being sold at the markets as I've never bought any, and now that think about it, I can't recall ever seeing any. Usually it's only the rice sausage I see being sold, which I assume is rice and pork.

As far as veggies are concerned........I personally don't believe produce bought at Tesco is grown any differently to the produce bought at local markets. A little research will reveal that Thailand uses chemicals extensively in farming, as do farmers everywhere.

I really enjoy trying to grow a few things for the table and in doing so, I discovered just how difficult it is to grow edible crops here. For example, I just recently had to get rid of all our egg fruit plants because of mealy bug infestations. This is the third time I've tried growing them and on all three occasions, the plants ended up completely covered in the buggers. I'm now convinced that that you simply cannot grow them here with liberal use of chemicals, and of course I won't use chemicals on anything I grow.

What I'm saying is, all those picture perfect veggies you see in the malls, and at the markets, are picture perfect for a reason. Try growing your own, and you'll never end up with such pristine looking produce.


As far as the meat is concerned.......I'd bet my bottom dollar that the meat at the markets is fresher than the meat in the malls, but I also understand why some Farang have reservations.


Unless you produce all your own food, you simply don't know.

[sjpthsuk]

I thought that it was usual for human excrement to be used on fields back in UK. It certainly used to smell like it And these spuds smell exactly the same, there's no mistaking it for animal variety. It smells like old toilets!

Back in the 70s they tried to spread human excrement in liquid form on the fields back in the UK, but 1) local people complained of the smell and 2) agricultural rules stipulated that the land that it was spread on could not be used for 'X' years for crops and for a shorter time for livestock".
Certainly they used to spread dung "mixture of cow-shite and straw" and that was normal on a year to year basis.

As Spitfire already mentioned, and i'm of the same opinion, i'm very wary about purchasing local produce due to the methods of control.

I hope they are not, but the fact that your getting the odour must be telling you something...

[bcrglobal]

On the subject of meat at the markets....

I was very wary at first. But then I saw the crap meat at Tesco, Makro, etc.

Then The Mrs. and I reached an accommodation:

When we want to buy meat, we go to the market early (Done shopping by 08:30)

We get BEAUTIFUL chicken--leg quarters, breasts, whole birds, depending on what we're cooking. Pork fillets and pork ribs to die for, and great fish. Yes, there are some dodgy things for sale even in the early morning, but it's not hard to see who is selling quality and freshness if you look around. Our Chicken-Lady sells chicken that blows anything I've seen in town out of the water--seriously, nice plump birds, white and not that sickly yellow, and the taste comes through in the cooking. We have 2 pork sellers we use--both offer very fresh product, and again the results are obvious in the cooking. Our fish seller has well-kept fish (Clear, bright eyes, and shiny scales) and doesn't sell anything old.....but there are plenty of sellers who do. As a major bonus we also buy fresh curry pastes, freshly pressed coconut milk, etc.

As far as the vegetable selection goes, Villa definitely wins hands down but the prices are scary. The selections at Tesco and Makro are pretty garbage quality wise compared to the markets. We get some lovely asparagus, broccoli that is far better than we see elsewhere, etc. Decent salad lettuce and tomatoes still require a trip to one of the supermarkets, but that's about it as far as fresh veggies go.

Potatoes and their smell--I haven't noticed it. We only really eat potatoes at home as part of a nice massaman, and there is definitely no smell there

[deepee]

That aroma on the spuds may also be animal manure too. Any avid gardener will tell you the best vegies will be grown with compost and manures .Not sure how you could determine what source the poo came from just by the smell.
Saw a blue tanker truck dropping a load of sewerage into a mangrove creek north of Phetchburi last year. He showed no signs of concern when I walked past him to confirm my suspicions what he was unloading.