Vegetables and fruits in student lunches heavily contaminated with toxic chemicals

[webfact]

Vegetables and fruits in student lunches heavily contaminated with toxic chemicals   

 

 

Vegetables and fruits found in lunches for students under the government-sponsored lunch programme are almost 100 percent contaminated with pesticides and 99 percent of the urine samples from students and teachers in four provinces were tested with organophosphate, a deadly toxic pesticide that attacks nervous system.

 

The above alarming findings were the result of a research jointly conducted by Thai Education Foundation, Thai Health Promotion Foundation, Field Alliance of Chiangmai University and Greenpeace Thailand during July 2017-October 2018 on student lunches in 55 schools in Chiang Mai, Pathum Thani, Sakon Nakhon and Phang-nga provinces.

 

Vegetables which are widely used in student lunches which were tested include carrot, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, kale, long bean and tomato.  However, only two types of chemicals were tested – organophosphate and pyrethrum because organophosphate are widely used in insecticides for fruits and vegetables.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/vegetables-and-fruits-in-student-lunches-heavily-contaminated-with-toxic-chemicals/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2018-12-12

[fruitman]

See that's why i won't eat fruit and veg from Thailand..i buy imported ones or from the Royal Project.

 

What will the government do about it?? Nothing as usual??? Then wait untill the rest of the world takes action against Thai produce...and don't cry if that happens.

[mok199]

Disgustingly sad and not surprising ....with our toxic air, filthy beaches and dangerous roads , those 7/11 hotdogs don't seem all that bad now...

[balo]

I told you this for years, but not all of it is as bad as this . 

I stick to bananas and peel of any fruits.  Veggies I buy frozen . 

 

 

 

 

[fruitman]

4 minutes ago, balo said:

I told you this for years, but not all of it is as bad as this . 

I stick to bananas and peel of any fruits.  Veggies I buy frozen . 

 

 

 

 

I like the salad bars in the supermarkets but won't buy it anymore...also no more fresh orange juice from thailand, no coconuts, no durians out of season, no mango's....actually nothing is left at this moment.....

 

So strange that foreign expats are leaving thailand ????

[ezzra]

In a country where there's total lack of checks and controls as what farmers are spraying their field and orchids with and the unsanitary storage and transportations of said produces, one should be surprise at all to read about such finding and i'm sure that these are only the tip of the iceberg... 

[LomSak27]

I imagine that a lot of the vegetables that you buy say at supermarkets, Makro etc, not fresh markets, are from China and as such are as contaminated as Thai produce or more so.

Unless you are knocking out kids I wouldn't worry too much. It's just screws <deleted> up your DNA, or increases chances of Alzheimers, premature senility. That is a relative health risk, and for many here, a moot point. 

Edited December 11, 2018 by LomSak27

[mok199]

14 minutes ago, ezzra said:

In a country where there's total lack of checks and controls as what farmers are spraying their field and orchids with and the unsanitary storage and transportations of said produces, one should be surprise at all to read about such finding and i'm sure that these are only the tip of the iceberg... 

I think you mean ''not be surprised''....missing a not........have a good day sir....

Edited December 11, 2018 by mok199

[BB1958]

{snip} Besides the unsafe fruits and vegetables, Mr Marut said meat, meat balls and sausages used in student lunches were also found to be contaminated with borax and formalin {end}

 

This part too was not copied over from the original article - Children are our future and we are poisoning them, sometimes I think there is no hope.. 

[doremifasol]

........or maybe this is fake news meant to get people in panic mode.......

 

Then they can kiss goodbye their healthy diet and start with junk food.

 

Big Corporations and Pharma will live happy ever after.......

[Jeremy50]

No surprises here. Go to any fruit growing area in Thailand, and you'll see chemicals being sprayed around like it was water, day after day until the fruit is picked. The farmers just want  their fruit to look good so as to get the best price, they couldn't give a damn about the health of the people who eat it.  No law, no controls, no inspections, corruption everywhere..........this is the result.

[LazySlipper]

1 hour ago, fruitman said:

So strange that foreign expats are leaving thailand

555 yes it is. And many are leaving feet first!

[masuk]

1 hour ago, fruitman said:

I like the salad bars in the supermarkets but won't buy it anymore...also no more fresh orange juice from thailand, no coconuts, no durians out of season, no mango's....actually nothing is left at this moment.....

 

So strange that foreign expats are leaving thailand ????

For some years, I have only purchased frozen vegetables from New Zealand, which I know are strictly controlled.    Contaminated vegetables will always be a problem in Thailand until farmers are trained to handle toxic chemicals.

[Machiavelli]

Living on earth and complaining about toxicity is serious whining. The universe is toxic. Everything is toxic. There is only 20.95 O2 content in the air. Any slight drop we are good as dead. Tobacco, alcohol, fast food, soft drinks, hard drinks, sitting on a needle, accidents, roof superman, kissing, running, eating, vegetables, laughing till people see intestines, smiling, winking, honking, etc. are all toxic and when its time to check out, its time to check out. 

[Cadbury]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

99 percent of the urine samples from students and teachers in four provinces were tested with organophosphate, a deadly toxic pesticide that attacks nervous system.

Surely not. Those doctors with heavily laden pockets courtesy of the chemical companies said these pesticides were perfectly safe.

[SkyNets]

We would of got away with it, if it wasn't for those pesky kids!

[connda]

Says a lot about 'growing your own' organically.  However, for those who can't, current research shows that soaking fruits and veggies in a solution of baking soda for 15 minutes is probably the most effective way of reducing or eliminating pesticides.  Some pesticides are neutralized by 100%.

[BB1958]

2 minutes ago, connda said:

Says a lot about 'growing your own' organically.  However, for those who can't, current research shows that soaking fruits and veggies in a solution of baking soda for 15 minutes is probably the most effective way of reducing or eliminating pesticides.  Some pesticides are neutralized by 100%.

Except for systemic pesticides - peeling, washing does not help much. You are right Connda - we too use bi-carb to wash our "organic" veggies - the air pollution settles on the veggies...

Edited December 12, 2018 by BB1958

[Destiny1990]

completely ridiculous the thai government lets its own citizens for decades already getting slowly killed by eating healthy looking poisoned foods..

better go to the Mac Donalds here for healthy foods!!!

[connda]

3 hours ago, balo said:

I stick to bananas and peel of any fruits.

You've never seen a commercial banana farm?  It's pesticide and fungicide intensive.  Don't know why.  Here at home we grow bananas without spraying and I've never seen bananas attacked by insects or rot.

[fruitman]

2 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

completely ridiculous the thai government lets its own citizens for decades already getting slowly killed by eating healthy looking poisoned foods..

better go to the Mac Donalds here for healthy foods!!!

Do you think MacD imports their fruit and vegy from safe countries?

[Easy Come Easy Go]

3 hours ago, fruitman said:

See that's why i won't eat fruit and veg from Thailand..i buy imported ones or from the Royal Project.

 

What will the government do about it?? Nothing as usual??? Then wait untill the rest of the world takes action against Thai produce...and don't cry if that happens.

I try to only eat frozen imports and I mentioned it on here 2 weeks ago, and most people slammed me for it lol

[fruitman]

1 minute ago, Easy Come Easy Go said:

I try to only eat frozen imports and I mentioned it on here 2 weeks ago, and most people slammed me for it lol

Most people here live in a condo around Sukhumvit, they also breathe the most dirty air all days so why would they care?

[Destiny1990]

3 minutes ago, fruitman said:

Do you think MacD imports their fruit and vegy from safe countries?

I sure the Mac Donalds checks it better then what is allowed here..

[quadperfect]

Now i understand why thai culture is so backwards. There all high on insecticides and they cant think streight.

Now i know why i am feeling so ill.

Time to go.

[dcnx]

2 hours ago, BB1958 said:

sometimes I think there is no hope.. 

There is no hope for Thailand. None. 

 

They won’t learn. You can’t teach them. They won’t enforce their own laws, not even even a little bit. No one follows the law.  Face is more important than everything else. Their already failed education system is getting worse. Much of the food is poison. The air is poison. The roads are literally a kill zone. Immigration is becoming increasingly difficult. And I’ll just stop there.

 

If all goes as planned 2019 is my last year here. I’ve made a lot of money here but in the end it wasn’t worth it. 

[ravip]

Today, I guess we will never know what we are eating, in Thailand or anywhere! Trade practices are so tricky... By the way, what do they mean by 'nature identical flavours added'?

 

https://www.bewell.com/blog/what-do-those-codes-on-stickers-of-fruits-and-some-veggies-mean/

https://food-hacks.wonderhowto.com/how-to/decoding-produce-stickers-hidden-meaning-behind-fruit-vegetable-labels-0154570/

https://www.ifpsglobal.com/Identification/PLU-Codes

 

[Fex Bluse]

3 hours ago, LomSak27 said:

I imagine that a lot of the vegetables that you buy say at supermarkets, Makro etc, not fresh markets, are from China and as such are as contaminated as Thai produce or more so.

Unless you are knocking out kids I wouldn't worry too much. It's just screws <deleted> up your DNA, or increases chances of Alzheimers, premature senility. That is a relative health risk, and for many here, a moot point. 

Even the highend supermarkets in Bangkok sell fruit and vegetables labeled as coming from China (though they maker them up as if they are from Western countries or Japan). 

 

I have been telling people that the rates of early to early middle aged cancers in Thailand have been SKYROCKETING in the last 10 years. Bunch of my expat mates won't listen. Oh well 

 

Between imported Chinese junk and marginally better Thai junk - with absolutely ZERO oversight or regulation, we are entirely at the mercy of dumb luck or bad fate. 

Edited December 12, 2018 by Fex Bluse

[CanterbrigianBangkoker]

1 hour ago, Machiavelli said:

Living on earth and complaining about toxicity is serious whining. The universe is toxic. Everything is toxic. There is only 20.95 O2 content in the air. Any slight drop we are good as dead. Tobacco, alcohol, fast food, soft drinks, hard drinks, sitting on a needle, accidents, roof superman, kissing, running, eating, vegetables, laughing till people see intestines, smiling, winking, honking, etc. are all toxic and when its time to check out, its time to check out. 

The f*** ????

Edited December 12, 2018 by CanterbrigianBangkoker

[Fex Bluse]

33 minutes ago, dcnx said:

There is no hope for Thailand. None. 

 

They won’t learn. You can’t teach them. They won’t enforce their own laws, not even even a little bit. No one follows the law.  Face is more important than everything else. Their already failed education system is getting worse. Much of the food is poison. The air is poison. The roads are literally a kill zone. Immigration is becoming increasingly difficult. And I’ll just stop there.

 

If all goes as planned 2019 is my last year here. I’ve made a lot of money here but in the end it wasn’t worth it. 

Completely agree. If one is working, it's a horrid place. Good luck in your next adventure.