Almost half of northern-style chili paste products exceed preservative limits

By The Nation

 

Nam prik noom is a popular accompaniment to a variety of dishes, and concerns over excessive levels of food preservatives prompted the Foundation for Consumers to have testing done.

 

Seven out of 17 brands of nam prik noom – or northern-style chili paste – examined in a study in the North exceeded the safe limit for the food preservative benzoic acid.

 

The Foundation for Consumers, which released the results of the study on Thursday, said many of the products did not show accurate information on their labels. The foundation is urging state agencies to conduct random inspections on provincial food outlets and provide training for the chili paste producers on the proper use of food preservatives.

 

The study found that levels of benzoic acid in the seven brands exceeded the limits recommended in 2018 by the Public Health Ministry.

 

Those products found to have exceeded the limit of 500 milligrams of benzoic acid per one kilogram of food were:

 

1) Damrong, collected from Chiang Mai's Waroros Market (with 890.32 milligrams per kilogram)

 

2) Lanna, collected from Phrae's Denchai Market (with 1,026.91 milligrams per kilogram)

 

3) Nicha (under the Je Hong brand), collected from Chiang Mai's Waroros Market (with 1,634.20 milligrams per kilogram)

 

4) Je Hong, also collected from the Waroros Market (with 1,968.85 milligrams per kilogram)

 

5) Mae Chamaiporn, collected from Lampang's Aswin Market (with 2,231.82 milligrams per kilogram)

 

6) Yajai (spicy type), collected from Phrae's Denchai Intersection area (with 3,549.75 milligrams per kilogram)

 

7) Uma, collected from Phayao's Mae Tam Market (with 5,649.43 milligrams per kilogram)

 

Only two brands - Oui Kham (under the Khantok brand), collected from Chiang Mai's Waroros Market, and Wannapa, collected from Chiang Rai's Wannapa Shop - didn't contain food preservatives, while eight other brands contained benzoic acid within the recommended limit. 

 

 

Kaew Kangsadalampai, of the foundation's Chaladsue (Smart Buyer) monthly magazine editorial department, said: “Even though the human body can get rid of food preservatives via the urinary system, if we are exposed too much to food preservatives in everyday meals or from ready-made food products, they can cause liver and kidney problems as these organs have to work hard to get rid of the preservatives."

 

 

Monrudee Phoin, the foundation's food science and nutrition academic, noted that the use of as much as 5,649 milligrams of benzoic acid was 11 times higher than the government authority's recommended amount.

 

"Moreover, the use of food preservatives must appear on the product label to inform the consumers, but only two out of the 17 brand samples stated the use of food preservatives on their labels. The seven brands with limit-exceeding amounts didn't mention it on their labels," said Monrudee, who urged state agencies to enforce the label regulations and for the provincial authorities to conduct random checks on food outlets and at the producers’ plants to ensure product quality and give consumers confidence.

 

Northern Consumer Network member Poungthong Wongwai said that nam prik noom is a popular souvenir item from the North but, as the study showed many of the samples contained excessive benzoic acid, her group would contact local health authorities to ask them to conduct the sought-for checks and provide the training for producers. This was needed to maintain the Northern region's reputation for quality of food, and especially for those products that are bought as souvenirs.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30374049

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-08-01

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Keeps the parasites happy..

I dont expect any different just about normal in Thailand, did she check out that dodgy Kamagra? that should come under the FDA shouldn't it?

3 hours ago, webfact said:

many of the products did not show accurate information on their labels.

I've suspected that Thai food labels are systemically dishonest. 

 

If you look even in high-end markets, you'll see Thai front labels that say "Zero sugar" and then look on the nutrition label and find 10 grams sugar. ????????????

 

They are not as bad as the Chinese but similar detachment from truth. 

 

We should suspect that most Thai food labels are dishonest. 

And this is just one product.

14 minutes ago, wisperone said:

And this is just one product.

 

One among many that are probably similarly falsely labeled and containing excessive amounts of various stuff that really shouldn't be in people's foods.

56 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

They are not as bad as the Chinese but similar detachment from truth. 

What with this type of thing happening with Thai goods, as well as their propensity to spray anything and everything with just about every chemical known to man, and in great quantities as well, it makes me look a little foolish when I go into my local supermarket and purposely avoid buying anything from China because of the reputation they have for doing exactly the same.

 

Luckily there are some products from Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Spain and Peru which I can buy, but such a shame that one has to do this when there is absolutely no real need to do so – – really just greed on behalf of the producers here and in China.

 

And of course lack of oversight!

Approval and certification for just about anything comes easy in Thailand at the right price.

Take toxic spray chemicals for example. They have been certified safe by doctors who have been handsomely rewarded by the chemical companies for their research work. 

Organic certification can be readily bought under the counter. 

I'm surprised, these look very much like proper products that require an FDA approval and must pass their tests.

So either the producers sent modified products to the testing, the FDA is not testing for preservatives or some other kind of corruption or forging.

In USA and Europe one could start a lawsuit and sue them. But not in a third world country as Thailand.

Currently doing a training in one of the biggest and most prestigious laboratories in Thailand, for export certification the producers sent in their own sample. There is no independent third party or random test by organisations or the government. This practice makes it top easy for sending forged samples that not represent the real average products. It then can only be detected by random custom checks of the importing country.

Mai me 'sugar'* kap, mot kap? LOL (* 'sugar' = Monosodium Glutamate, here, the carcinogenous MSG, and derivates, Thais throw by the fat spoonfulls in their, ...your, food) Mai pen rai, Krung Thai chop mak-mak, Farang, bah, mai rhu luang...

Is 'Thai cuisine' toxic? Yes, IMO, definitely, but not any bit more than, say, chinese, indon, vietnamese, cambodian, ..., food! So what to do? Cook as much as you can at home, avoiding ready-to-mix 'preparations'; have, an odd few, 'eateries' you, fingers crossed, choose to trust (mai, mai, no 'sugar', kap, chin kap...), ...and watch them preparing your dish every now and then; go to crazily expensive resorts, ...still with fingers crossed. No better solution for you, after so many years, it's as if, as so many other bad stuff, it got 'into the genes', ...and all comes from 'motherland' China! Hail China! Bah!!!

I am still waiting for a review of mineral waters. On none´s label I see what´s exactly inside like on western labels. I always buy them full of hope that they are more heathy than drinking water - and pay much more.

Gotta make it and eat it fresh 

 

Love nam prik oong as well.....

2 hours ago, bangrak said:

Mai me 'sugar'* kap, mot kap? LOL (* 'sugar' = Monosodium Glutamate, here, the carcinogenous MSG, and derivates, Thais throw by the fat spoonfulls in their, ...your, food) Mai pen rai, Krung Thai chop mak-mak, Farang, bah, mai rhu luang...

Why don't you just learn the words for sugar and msg then?

With those spectacular Thai language skills no wonder you are a farang mai ru rueang.

That looks like the stuff my wife makes, though she calls it "J-O".  (jeow, jaew?) It is great with sticky rice and veggies.  She uses the big light green chilies that aren't too hot, though may spice it up a bit.

I am still waiting for a review of mineral waters. On none´s label I see what´s exactly inside like on western labels. I always buy them full of hope that they are more heathy than drinking water - and pay much more.

Aura mineral water has it for sure. Mont Fleur I'm pretty sure as well.

That looks like the stuff my wife makes, though she calls it "J-O".  (jeow, jaew?) It is great with sticky rice and veggies.  She uses the big light green chilies that aren't too hot, though may spice it up a bit.

Jiaew also delicious though different from Nam Prik num. Usually it is red and with some ground roasted rice powder, originating from the northeast / Isaan.

So what action does this authority do. Absolutely nothing, just chat Thai favorite past time.

Meanwhile imported products labels are always covered by a Thai language sticker so you cannot read the contents. Hopeless.

What's the fuss about? The effects of benzoic acid are "Eye damage. Irritation of the skin, resulting in a rash, redness, and/or a burning feeling. Irritation to the nose, throat and lungs if inhaled, which may cause coughing, wheezing and/or shortness of breath."  In other words, exactly the same as chillies.

Slap "Organic" on just about everything.  

Those preservatives are preserving you too.

Why these products should be any different from other agricultural and food production  practices when it come to the use of deadly pesticides and poisonous chemicals in to our food, not surprise the least...

Devastating news that my preservatives have chilli paste in them. 

12 hours ago, CLW said:

I'm surprised, these look very much like proper products that require an FDA approval and must pass their tests.

So either the producers sent modified products to the testing, the FDA is not testing for preservatives or some other kind of corruption or forging.

In USA and Europe one could start a lawsuit and sue them. But not in a third world country as Thailand.

Currently doing a training in one of the biggest and most prestigious laboratories in Thailand, for export certification the producers sent in their own sample. There is no independent third party or random test by organisations or the government. This practice makes it top easy for sending forged samples that not represent the real average products. It then can only be detected by random custom checks of the importing country.

I agree the laws are still to lax in regards to companies that break the law. In regards to food safety, this should be a serious issue. In the west there would be massive recalls and heavy fines.

 

In regards to testing, I do send my products to Intertek and SGS for testing to prove my products are safe. It is not true there there is no independent or random test by organizations, it really depends on what the customer requires. I have customers who does random factory inspections, the company I deal with in the US and Japan is big and strict, they also test our products independently on their side. But yes, factories could send in a different sample to test while making something totally different. But those that export, majority would not do that unless they are really stupid to kill their own business (which of course still happens).

3 hours ago, legend49 said:

Meanwhile imported products labels are always covered by a Thai language sticker so you cannot read the contents. Hopeless.

This truly is annoying. Instead of placing the sticker on to the twist cap,or underneath, or even over the brand name. How often do I have to peel them off in a super market, to find out about the contents.

In Thailand you have to give what's written on food labels some latitude compared to what's actually in the product... 

Nam pik noon - wonderful stuff.

Still yummy.

12 hours ago, bangrak said:

Mai me 'sugar'* kap, mot kap? LOL (* 'sugar' = Monosodium Glutamate, here, the carcinogenous MSG, and derivates, Thais throw by the fat spoonfulls in their, ...your, food) Mai pen rai, Krung Thai chop mak-mak, Farang, bah, mai rhu luang...

I knew that I was "sensitive" to large amounts of MSG, but all that I read in the past did not seem to point to it being harmful.........but now reading the article/link below from a reputable source I'm not so sure!!

 

Potentially dangerous stuff!!

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5938543/  

 

The purpose of this editorial is to shed light on MSG toxicity and the possible threat it poses to public health. Can MSG associated harm be prevented or should the product be banned altogether?

 

The harmful effects of MSG described in this paper might be perceived only by a small number of scientists, but they represent a silent threat posed by the consumption of this popular additive to all of society. It has been suggested that toxicity of MSG can be overcome by the use of certain kinds of vitamin like A, C, D and E. Quercetin and diltiazem have also been suggested to play a protective role in MSG-induced toxicity

For once it is not the fault of any aliens ........... They simply cannot earn money honestly, it seems.