Why Does Thailand Have Crap Food

[kerryk]

Why Thailand has crap food.

One reason is holding temps. Food cannot be held at room temp. It will poison you. Food should be below 40F or above 135F.

Another is cross contamination. You can’t use just one cutting board for chicken, pork, and so on.

Another is three compartment sinks. One to wash, one to rinse and one to sanitize. They are non existent in Thailand.

Next time you eat at a street side vendor look for the above things. When you get sick you can remember reading it here.

Why does Thailand not enforce even these basic standards? Anyone have any ideas? I don’t really have a clue.

[grtaylor]

Why Thailand has crap food.

One reason is holding temps. Food cannot be held at room temp. It will poison you. Food should be below 40F or above 135F.

Another is cross contamination. You can’t use just one cutting board for chicken, pork, and so on.

Another is three compartment sinks. One to wash, one to rinse and one to sanitize. They are non existent in Thailand.

Next time you eat at a street side vendor look for the above things. When you get sick you can remember reading it here.

Why does Thailand not enforce even these basic standards? Anyone have any ideas? I don’t really have a clue.

Sixteen years here, and never been sick from a street stall . . . .

G

[Ulysses G.]

The foreign food in Vietnam is MUCH better than Thailand and cheaper too. I ate like a king when I lived there, but I much prefer Thai people and Thailand despite the cr*p food!

Edited March 2, 2007 by Ulysses G.

[ercorn]

yes,I can just imagine a street vendor with 3 sinks,3 cutting boards

[IvanLaw]

Why Thailand has crap food.

One reason is holding temps. Food cannot be held at room temp. It will poison you. Food should be below 40F or above 135F.

Another is cross contamination. You can’t use just one cutting board for chicken, pork, and so on.

Another is three compartment sinks. One to wash, one to rinse and one to sanitize. They are non existent in Thailand.

Next time you eat at a street side vendor look for the above things. When you get sick you can remember reading it here.

Why does Thailand not enforce even these basic standards? Anyone have any ideas? I don’t really have a clue.

Why?

For the Tourists that moan & moan & moan & moan & moan & moan & moan & moan & moan & moan & moan ad nausea

Shoe, fit, ware, etc

[PattayaXpat]

I was a Threpprasit market yesterday and mama wanted some Yam... As we walked up the girls was slicing some raw squid with her knife on the cutting board.

We ordered and of course the same cutting board and knife were used for the entire process. The salad is very heavy with lemon juice so I supposed that kills some germs, but I personally didn't eat it.

I get a kick out of the soup guys who run their business off of a side cart on their bikes reusing the same bowls all day!

TIT, The Thais have a very tough tolerance for germs...

[britmaveric]

Thailand has some of the best food in the world, never once been ill from food carts or from a restaurant.

[taxexile]

i like the food here , and even though hygiene standards are far below those taken for granted in europe and the usa , in many years here i have only had one minor bout of food poisoning.

i think the food police in the western world are for the most part little hitlers and quite unnecessary.

in thailand i have regularly eaten at street stalls and cheaper tin table cafes all over the country.

however i saw two things last week in bangkok which has made me think twice about eating from street stalls.

1. whilst walking through washington square one mid morning on the way to the dubliner from soi 22 i passed a food vendor setting up her cart for the lunchtime rush. she had about half a dozen plastic bags piled up on the cart and was wheeling the cart into position when the wheel caught on a rut or stone on the path and jerked it. all the bags fell off and pieces of meat and tomatoes and vegetable leaves fell out of them onto the ground. some of them fell into a small gutter on the roadside that had standing water in it. she picked up all the fallen food and replaced it back in the appropriate plastic bags and carried on setting up her stall.

2. next to where my parents in law live in bangkok and where we stay when we are there , there is a small slum community , among others there are low life criminals , , drug users and pushers and some very skanky prostitutes live there , some of these drug sellers ( female) cannot afford the increased police protection money now demanded of them ( the police are regular visitors to this little slum area , they buy beer and cigarettes at the parents in law shop and we get all the gossip) and have started selling food from carts. i see the carts parked overnight , often with unwashed dishes on them and open containers of condiments , i also see dogs , cats , rats and cockroaches crawling over them.

the days of the beaming mother like figure proudly selling clean home cooking made from the best ingredients on the streets has , i'm afraid to say , almost gone ..... at least in central bangkok.

street food used to be prepared and sold mainly by the chinese , their kids didnt want to follow in their footsteps and preferred to get educated ( with encouragement from their hard working parents) , these days its mostly younger thais working the carts and sadly their standards are lower , at least in the large cities.

[davethailand]

Why Thailand has crap food.

One reason is holding temps. Food cannot be held at room temp. It will poison you. Food should be below 40F or above 135F.

Another is cross contamination. You can’t use just one cutting board for chicken, pork, and so on.

Another is three compartment sinks. One to wash, one to rinse and one to sanitize. They are non existent in Thailand.

Next time you eat at a street side vendor look for the above things. When you get sick you can remember reading it here.

Why does Thailand not enforce even these basic standards? Anyone have any ideas? I don’t really have a clue.

Why?

For the Tourists that moan & moan & moan & moan & moan & moan & moan & moan & moan & moan & moan ad nausea

Shoe, fit, ware, etc

Agreed.

[gbt71fa]

Some of hte the food I see in the country does truly disgust me, believe me and I prefer Italian or Mexican any day. I have had massive food posioning three times here...all releated to the Pizza Company and probably from their salad bar. That is why I will never eat there again. Besides, their pizza is horrid tripe. The best pizza I've had so far in Thailand is at the Snow White Restaraunt in Nakhon Pathom. The owner lived in the U.S. for awhile and makes good gourmet pizzas. Plus, not back steack and icy milk shakes. But Pizza Company is the only place in Thailand (food wise) that has tried to kill me (other things have tried to kill me but we are talking about Thai food so...).

[ercorn]

I remeber about 10 years ago it was like 50/50 I was going to get sick from a street vendor`s food now its about 80/20 that I dont get sick so I think somethings improved...maybe just my tolerence.I find that at outdoor restaurants,vendors as long as alot of Thais eat there the foods usually o.k.

[britmaveric]

Hmmm BBQ Chicken Pizza at Pizza Company is quite lovely!!!

As far as normal restaurants anywhere in the world - trust me you don't want to know what goes on in the kitchen or you would never eat anywhere.

[gummy]

KerryK - you for real ?

[Dirk_brijs]

Why Thailand has crap food.

One reason is holding temps. Food cannot be held at room temp. It will poison you. Food should be below 40F or above 135F.

Another is cross contamination. You can’t use just one cutting board for chicken, pork, and so on.

Another is three compartment sinks. One to wash, one to rinse and one to sanitize. They are non existent in Thailand.

Next time you eat at a street side vendor look for the above things. When you get sick you can remember reading it here.

Why does Thailand not enforce even these basic standards? Anyone have any ideas? I don’t really have a clue.

You happened to work for CDC or something or on cruise ships???

Just for your information the guide lines you just mentioned are only required by vessels (VSP Vessel Sanitation Program) coming from foreign soil sailing into a US port. These requirements do not apply for any land based operation not even in the US. So stop whining as 3 compartment sinks and stuff like that dont even exist in your local McDonalds mister as I am sure that is the food you prefer am I right. Get your head screwed on the right way ( on yourshoulders and not your ass) or another alternative is leave Thailand and never come back so you wont get sick from Thai food no more. Ciao

[rcm]

Why Thailand has crap food.

One reason is holding temps. Food cannot be held at room temp. It will poison you. Food should be below 40F or above 135F.

Another is cross contamination. You can’t use just one cutting board for chicken, pork, and so on.

Another is three compartment sinks. One to wash, one to rinse and one to sanitize. They are non existent in Thailand.

Next time you eat at a street side vendor look for the above things. When you get sick you can remember reading it here.

Why does Thailand not enforce even these basic standards? Anyone have any ideas? I don’t really have a clue.

Can't really say that Thai Food is crap .....just potentially hazardous

If it wasn't for the CDC , VSP (vessel sanitation program) and Haccp than there would be many other Western Countries who would have the same "possible cross contaminations" . Fact is we survived then, and we do survive now without it too(here in thailand). I never had any foodborne illness here in Thailand ( i have been here since 3 years continuous) ....but i had one in the US , South Africa , Mexico and Uk.

Cutting Boards with color coding and preferably not made of wood (which than changed back to be wooden being preferred as per VSP) is a valid point . But are they used accordingly in the west? same applies to the 3 compartment sink. I am not saying they don't exist in the US or elsewhere.....but are they really used the way they were meant too? Not to mention the chlorine solution(sanitation sink ...) how many follow the right ppm's and use it in the correct sink too?

The fact that Thai food is cooked and eaten with almost no timegap doesn't give it much chance to create much harmful bacteria or leaves those which are harmful on a "relative" safe level.

It certainly would be better to enforce Food sanitation a little but it shouldn't be as crazy as the CDC (center of Disease Control) outlines things and only applies it to everyone else, except their own soil.

rcm

[IvanLaw]

Why Thailand has crap food.

One reason is holding temps. Food cannot be held at room temp. It will poison you. Food should be below 40F or above 135F.

Another is cross contamination. You can’t use just one cutting board for chicken, pork, and so on.

Another is three compartment sinks. One to wash, one to rinse and one to sanitize. They are non existent in Thailand.

Next time you eat at a street side vendor look for the above things. When you get sick you can remember reading it here.

Why does Thailand not enforce even these basic standards? Anyone have any ideas? I don’t really have a clue.

From Above Post

"I don’t really have a clue."

A TRU STATMENT AT LAST

Why the continual complains, objections, adverse comments regarding Thailand?

Thinking of trying to write a restaurant review?

If so please check your Hygiene / Health statements are a little nearer the truth than you have stated above

Edited March 2, 2007 by IvanLaw

[Goshawk]

Ahh.. what the #ell !

when in Rome..?

you only live once so EAT that freshly (questionable?) butchered cow/pig/chicken/toad thats for sale in your local market complete with it's entourage of flies that have learnt how to totally ignore the streamer-tied-to-a-bit-of-wire attached to a spinning-electric-motor-stuck-in-the-top-of-an-empty-Sangsom-bottle

i've been doing this for years and i'm ok...

[farangsay]

Well another successful troll post.

I only ever got sick once.

Chewing on a chicken leg until I noticed it was still bleeding.

Gave the whole lot to a scraggy soi dog that always snarled at me.

I survived and the dog had a positive personality change.

Wagged his tail whenever he saw me.

Which got him more leftovers.

So it improved his intelligence too.

Salmonella is good for dogs !

[PattayaXpat]

I caught Giardia on a trip in the early 90's.

The same trip I remeber walking through a market in Hua Hin, I was looking at some sweets on a cart and thinking to my self the Thais must really love raisins.

The vendor saw my interest so waved her arms across the open pans of sweets and hundreds of flys flew off!

Lost my sweet tooth that trip!

[yabs]

don't get thus

thailand has amazing food

if yoiu refer to farang food yes its crap but that thai food is just amazing

one of the big draws of the country

love eating at roadside stalls a s well and i've never been really ill in thailand

om ly time was when i ate at a buffet in a hotel

maybe i was just lucky not getting ill at roadside stalls, but one thing for sure it tastes delicsious

[PattayaXpat]

I love thai food also, but now when I want cheaper food I'll stick to the food courts at Lotus or Carrefour where I can only hope that their are some type of cleanliness guide lines.

I won't stop eating Thai food because I think it's unclean.

[IvanLaw]

Well another successful troll post.

I only ever got sick once.

Chewing on a chicken leg until I noticed it was still bleeding.

Just a small Tip

Next time ensure the chicken is dead.

(One good indication is if it has feathers or not)

Edited March 2, 2007 by IvanLaw

[Goshawk]

Well another successful troll post.

I only ever got sick once.

Chewing on a chicken leg until I noticed it was still bleeding.

Just a small Tip

Next time ensure the chicken is dead.

(A good indication is if it has feathers or not)

NOT TRUE

some of the tastiest chickens i've ever eaten were positively cloaked in masses of feathers

[solo siam]

I've been here for 5 years now and Interestingly enough the only two times I have been ill have been from farang restaurants, never from street vendors or Thai restaurants, with the food trade, repeat business is vital - so often shoddy or dirty vendors don't last long.

[PattayaXpat]

I've been here for 5 years now and Interestingly enough the only two times I have been ill have been from farang restaurants, never from street vendors or Thai restaurants, with the food trade, repeat business is vital - so often shoddy or dirty vendors don't last long.

I agree, the vendors thrive on repeat business. I can't tell you how many places that my girl will not go back to any more because the food was My Alloy, or Soka pok.

Another story from the 90's. I was temp. living in Bangkok and on the weekends my ex and I would go to Sa Kaew for the weekends.

She once came back from the market with a complete pig head, when they started to prepare it they found that it was infested with maggots.

I told them to throw it away, I'll give them more money to go back! After much talking amongst them selves they decided to clean and eat it

[Zardoz]

?? Crap..You've never been to South Korea(I speak of western food here, Korean can be very good).

Ah maybe u mean safe-wise? Compared to Cambodia..Thailand is FAR safer..just came back

from Cambodia and even long termers seem to get the need for imodiam tablets every now and then. I've never had any probs with eating street food in Thailand ..some western stuff is mediocre and overpriced..but frankly i find it hard to find a truly crappy place in Thailand...granted many

so-so ones are here.

Why Thailand has crap food.

One reason is holding temps. Food cannot be held at room temp. It will poison you. Food should be below 40F or above 135F.

Another is cross contamination. You can’t use just one cutting board for chicken, pork, and so on.

Another is three compartment sinks. One to wash, one to rinse and one to sanitize. They are non existent in Thailand.

Next time you eat at a street side vendor look for the above things. When you get sick you can remember reading it here.

Why does Thailand not enforce even these basic standards? Anyone have any ideas? I don’t really have a clue.

Can't really say that Thai Food is crap .....just potentially hazardous

If it wasn't for the CDC , VSP (vessel sanitation program) and Haccp than there would be many other Western Countries who would have the same "possible cross contaminations" . Fact is we survived then, and we do survive now without it too(here in thailand). I never had any foodborne illness here in Thailand ( i have been here since 3 years continuous) ....but i had one in the US , South Africa , Mexico and Uk.

Cutting Boards with color coding and preferably not made of wood (which than changed back to be wooden being preferred as per VSP) is a valid point . But are they used accordingly in the west? same applies to the 3 compartment sink. I am not saying they don't exist in the US or elsewhere.....but are they really used the way they were meant too? Not to mention the chlorine solution(sanitation sink ...) how many follow the right ppm's and use it in the correct sink too?

The fact that Thai food is cooked and eaten with almost no timegap doesn't give it much chance to create much harmful bacteria or leaves those which are harmful on a "relative" safe level.

It certainly would be better to enforce Food sanitation a little but it shouldn't be as crazy as the CDC (center of Disease Control) outlines things and only applies it to everyone else, except their own soil.

rcm

[ercorn]

one of the worst food from the street vendors is the boiled pig I remember you never used to see it for sale much then about 5 year ago everyone started sellng it.The problem is it smells good but looks digusting and if your not caeful you get a plate of fat with no meat.One time I had it in the evening I was flying to Jakarta early the next morning well about 2 am I started getting stomach cramps like i`d never had before I managed the taxi ride to the airport no problem got on to the plane o.k but as soon as the plane took off the pressure in the cabin made my stomach cramps 100 times more painful......when I finally got to JKK I was laid up in bed for 3 days.Now I see this boiled pig and it makes me sick.

[Ungabunga]

Good point, but I think you should maybe differentiate between crap food and crap hygeine. Everywhere in the world has at least some crap food and even then it's only a matter of opinion for some. On the hygeine front, if you were a person with some 'obsessive compulsive disorder type thingy' then perhaps South East Asia isn't for you. My opinion is that you've got to take the rough with the smooth. look at it this way, if it wasn't for crap food, there wouldn't be any great food. It's the same with women, if it wasn't for the ugly ones, there wouldn't be any smart ones hehehe

Incidentally, the only time I got serious food poisoning was from a burger van in South Shields - not South Pattaya.

[mr_hippo]

If you are moaning about food standards in Thailand, you don't want to know what happens in Western kitchens!

Someone mentioned 3 cutting boards - you need 6! Red - raw meat, blue - raw fish, yellow - cooked meat, brown - vegetables, green - salad & fruit and white - dairy.

Kerryk, if you don't like the or the preparation, should I e-mail you a map to the airport?

[mr_hippo]

Quick questions to those complaining about not having the requisite number of sinks and cutting boards -

How many of you have a triple sink and 6 cutting boards in your house?

How many of your family members' houses meet the standards?