Thailand: Consumer group calls for more food safety measures
To come to this conclusion the foundation carried out tests in 14 Bangkok supermarkets.
The 14 samples included cabbage, Chinese cabbage, Chinese broccoli, yard beans, morning glory, parsley and bird's eye chilli peppers.
It turned out that five of the samples contained what the foundation said were over high levels of pesticide. However, the group seemed to using EU safety levels as a measure and not those applicable under Thai regulations.
Parsley and yard beans were found to contain pesticide levels that would not be permitted in the EU.
Parsley samples were found to contain Chlorpyrifos at a level of 0.84 milligram per kilogram. Under the European Union Food Standard, Chlorpyrifos should not exceed 0.005 milligrams per kilogram. However, Thai authorities do not designate a standard for Chlorpyrifos contamination in food products.
Yard beans produced by Doctor Company were tainted with Carbofuran at a level of 0.007mg per kg. The EU prescribes a safe level of Carbofuran as not exceeding 0.02mg per kg. Thailand National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards designated that the level of Carbofuran in food products should not exceed 0.1 mg per kg.
Foundation for Consumers manager Saree Ongsomwang said her agency would send the results of the tests to the Food and Drug Administration and urge it to call on food producers to improve their product quality.
Meanwhile, Vitoon Lianchamroon of the Biothai Foundation has called on the government to ban a range of pesticides that are already banned in other countries - Carbofuran, Methomyl, Dicrotophos and EPN.
The pesticides are banned in the European Union, US, Singapore, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
Source: nationmultimedia.com
