The Department of Agriculture (DOA) has vowed to beef up its inspections of fruits and vegetables after an annual report by the Thai Pesticide Alert Network (Thai-PAN) found excessive levels of chemical residues in fruits and vegetables it tested this year.
Pichet Wiriyapha, director-general of the DOA, said the department will work more closely with agencies under the Agriculture Ministry, as well as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop a better standard for inspecting agricultural produce.
"The move would ensure fresh produces grown and sold in Thailand are safe for consumption, which would help realise our ambition to become the kitchen of the world," he said.
After Thai-PAN released its findings, the DOA sent out officials to inspect the produces which the food safety advocacy network said were tainted with high levels of chemical residues.
The result of their inspections, which was reported to the department on Monday, confirmed Thai-PAN's findings -- that a number of fruits, including those which were imported, such as red grapes and jujube, were tainted.
The department chief said the DOA has set up border stations to screen imported produces for pests. Now, the department will discuss with the FDA measures which would allow authorities to closely check for chemical contamination in imported fruits and vegetables, he said.
Regulations will also be revised to authorise border officials to check for chemical residues across all types of produces. Mr Pichet added.
He said 50 produces and food items sold at modern-trade stores have received product standard certifications from associations such as Organic Thailand and Q GAP.
If a certified produce is found to have excessive residue, the department would inform local authorities in the area, and farmers who grow the produce will also be alerted.
On Dec 4, the ThaiPAN said its survey of 509 fruits and vegetables sold nationwide found nine fruits and 18 vegetables contained more chemical residues than legally allowed.
According to the network, all the red grapes and jujubes it sampled for testing had more residue than the law allows. Samples of cherry tomatoes, bird's eye chillies, red chillies, celery and Chinese kale also contained too much chemical residue.