Apples sold in Thai markets are not from the US company which was forced to withdraw its apples after a deadly outbreak of listeria, health officials say.
Sakchai Sriboonsue, secretary-general of the National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards, said checks of local markets have turned up none of the apples recalled by US apple grower Bidart Bros.
The company issued a recall of all of its Granny Smith and Gala apples after the US Food and Drug Administration found two strains of listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that causes listeriosis, at the company's processing plant in Bakersfield, California.
The contamination is thought to be the cause of a recent listeriosis outbreak linked to packaged caramel apples that resulted in the deaths of three people in the US.
The apples were sold under the brand names Big Big and Granny's Best, but the company says they could also be sold under other brand names, or with no name.
Mr Sakchai said the bureau is working with the FDA to check whether Gala apples under the Big B trademark and Granny Smith apples under the Granny's Best name are being sold on the market. So far they have found none.
The FDA has warned that those apples, shipped from Bidart Bros late last year to several countries in Asia, including Thailand, could be contaminated with listeria.
"We have found no shipments of those apples in the market this time. But we will keep checking until March, as some shipments might take around 30-45 days to arrive at the country's ports," he said.
The bureau has collected 10 samples of Gala and Granny Smith apples sold on local markets under other brands for examination. Test results are pending.
Paisarn Dunkum, the local FDA's deputy secretary-general, said the agency has checked imported apples at all border checkpoints but none of those in question had been found.
"Currently, all apples in the market are safe to eat. But for safety's sake, consumers should still clean apples and peel off their skin before eating them," said Dr Paisarn.
Authorities earlier seized a shipment of two containers of apples imported from the US at Laem Chabang sea port.
He said the apples seized are Gala and Granny Smith apples, but they are not sold under the Big B and Granny's Best brands.
The FDA is testing samples of the apples, and results will be known in four to five days.
Earlier the FDA sent a warning letter to its Thai counterpart asking it to follow up on apple shipments from the US.
Officials from the FDA and the National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards yesterday inspected fruit sold at the Tesco Lotus Rattanathibet branch. They found none of the apples they were looking for.
Tesco Lotus said no apples are sold under those brands at its stores.