A report about high levels of pesticides found in sampled Shine Muscat grapes has raised fears about food safety, leading many to wonder how many fruits and vegetables sold at markets are laced with toxic chemicals.
The report was not conducted by a government agency but by the Thai Pesticides Alert Network (Thai-PAN) and the Foundation for Consumers, both non-government organisations campaigning against the use of chemicals in farming.
Both organisations have regularly conducted random food safety tests on vegetables and fruits.
For this report, the activists purchased 24 samples of the famous seedless grapes from retail shops and a wet market in Bangkok on Oct 2-3.
Nine samples were imported from China, while the remaining 15 were imported from unknown sources.
Shine Muscat Grapes -- big, green, seedless grapes grown in East Asian countries like Japan, South Korea, and China -- are becoming famous among local consumers.
Laboratory testing found that 23 of the 24 samples were highly contaminated with dangerous chemicals, one containing chlorpyrifos, which is banned in Thailand, and 22 others contaminated by 14 chemical residues.
The report caused alarm. However, these products are still available on the market, and the government cannot ignore this issue.
The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) and the Department of Health under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, which is responsible for food safety monitoring, need to step in and launch mass testing to locate unsafe products.
The FDA must warn consumers or force traders and exporters to recall chemically tainted fruits.
But the challenge is more than simply dealing with chemically laced fruits.
The big question is why non-profit organisations like Thai-PAN must carry out food safety testing and warn the public about such risks. Shouldn't it be the job of our government agencies to protect us from unsafe foods?
For the record, Thailand has had food safety risk management policies since 1999, with government agencies meant to monitor food safety in the market and local farming.
For example, the Department of Agriculture, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, is meant to monitor the use of chemical products in local farm products. But it has been criticised for supporting farm chemicals instead of reducing their usage.
While the government's food safety risk management plans look convincing on paper, the reality is less so.
To begin with, the FDA receives about 40 million baht to cover all tests needed in the marketplace. However, this sum is only enough to test locally-made food products, not imported foods.
Moreover, government laboratory abilities are limited. The FDA's laboratory can trace about 100 chemical residues, while advanced commercial-scale laboratories -- like the one that Thai-PAN uses -- can trace up to 500 types of chemicals.
Without active and reliable food safety monitoring, the Thai government's aspiration to be the kitchen of the world will remain a pipe dream. Safety has to come first.