The Vegetarian Festival next week comes amid warnings from authorities who recently detected traces of meat in samples of vegetarian products and insecticides in fruits and vegetables.
The inspection by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of 69 samples of vegetarian products sold in the last year found that 4.3% of them were contaminated with the DNA of animals.
FDA deputy secretary-general Paisarn Dunkum called the products "fake food" and warned wrongdoers could face fines of up to 5,000 baht or prison sentences up to 10 years. The agency joined the Public Health Ministry in campaigning for a safe and healthy Vegetarian Festival, and Dr Paisarn urged people to use their own judgement when buying vegetarian products.
Churiphon Bunyawongwirot, deputy chief of the Department of Medical Sciences, advised consumers to avoid so-called vegetarian products without FDA-approved labels because "they all have animal DNA".
The latest FDA tests on 1,867 samples of fruits nationwide also found that 30 of them, or 1.61% were too dangerous for consumption, Dr Paisarn said. The top five fruits contaminated with chemicals were oranges, apples, rose apples, grapes and cantaloupes, he said.
Meanwhile, 2,248, or 2.2% of 56,649 samples of vegetables were found unsafe due to traces of insecticides. The FDA has set up a watchlist on contaminated bai bua bok, or centella, garlic, dried chilli, shallots and cauliflowers.
The eight-day Vegetarian Festival, which begins on Tuesday, came under fire from the Public Health Ministry after it found a quarter of patients with diabetes and high blood pressure were unable to bring their symptoms under control after eating vegetarian food at last year's festival. Permanent secretary for public health Sophon Mekthana advised people to avoid overeating carbohydrates and fried and salty food.