Tainted Dry-type Banana Chips

[brahmburgers]

food news from self-appointed 'canary in a coalmine'

I bought two small bags of banana chips at a small village by my home in Chiang Rai. They came in a rigic plastic bag with no label - though they're commercially made and part of a variety of snacks distributed to shops throughout the area - and possible other places in Thailand.

They're not the moist type, but rather the thinkly sliced dry type that snap when broken - like crackers.

I ate one package before taking a siesta yesterday. I felt bad. Like a dummy, I ate the 2nd package just before retiring last night. I felt even worse. the symptoms were like a mild chemical poisoning. I couldn't help but think that the oil the chips were cooked in might have been seriously bad. In more detail, the symptoms were like an overdose of MSG: swelled tongue, tingling lips, headache at forehead, weak fast pulse, irritability. It's good I live alone.

I'll tell the vendor at the shop but it won't do any good. Even less effective were to take a sample to the local gov't office supposed to deal with such things. I brought some chemi-ridden oranges to them once and they told me that I personally would have to pay thousands of baht to get them tested. So much for 'gov't watchdogs' more like do-nothing bureaucrats if you ask me.

[Trevor]

Why are you eating that fried cr*p? Too lazy to buy fresh bananas for a pittance from the market or any roadside vendor?

The Thais are slaves to their taste buds. Fried foods are a major progenitor of ill-health here. And so unneccesary when fresh produce is in such abundance.

[londonthai]

by all means you should talk to shopkeeper - he is as much responsible for the food he sells as the producer.

he might have a box with the label in which he bought the bags - there should be written ingredients used, production and expiry dates, manufacturer. He might be able to return of the remaining stuff back to the wholesaler.

if local authorities are useless than write to the local newspaper about your ordeal - if published, you have a chance that the health office will start doing something about the problem.

no, don't buy any snacks in the shops, you really never know what they are - make them yourself of buy from the known street vendor.

[brahmburgers]

Trevor, my diet consists of mostly fresh fruits and veges. It so happens that once in awhile I buy snacks. I thought dried banana would be a benign little indulgence - but got zapped that particular time mentioned.

I should articulate a bit more on the package: they were in a clear plastic semi-rigid bag shaped like a small women's handbag - they were not in a common plastic bag. As mentioned earlier, they had no label, but looked to be part of a selection of widely distributed snack products.