Food safety in name only

EDITORIAL

Published: 13 Jul 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

It is a sad irony that that while the government wants to market Thailand as a "Kitchen of the World" by promoting food exports and by guaranteeing food safety to overseas customers, it has few health concerns for locals.

The European Union (EU) sent the government and food exporters into a panic last year when it threatened to stop importing a group of vegetables from Thailand after they were found with dangerous levels of toxic residues from chemical pesticides.

Measures were promptly taken to make the vegetables for export meet EU food safety standards.

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undertaker
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Discussion 1 : 13 Jul 2012 at 05.541
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I understand what your saying but we don't want to get to the point where they are in Europe. There many chemicals were banned for sometimes no good reason other than the cost of registering and testing
Many products went off the market indeed the amateur gardener was left with practically nothing to use in their garden
It is important that the people who advise the banning of a chemical know why it is used and understands fully why it should be with drawn. They should not be people who have never been further than Bangkok and have no understanding of the life of the average Thai farmer
The farmers provide something which we all cannot do without food.They should be helped rather than hindered by the unnecessary banning of chemical sprays rather they should be instructed in the proper use of chemicals on their crops. Yes some dangerous chemicals we can do without but usually the alternative is more expensive. With concern now about the rising cost of food the banning of cheaper chemicals could lead to a further increase in food cost. The government needs to think carefully about this and act wisely.
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Food safety in name only | Bangkok Post: opinion