Thailand Halts Durian Exports to China Over Chemical Scare

[snoop1130]

File photo for reference only

 

The Department of Agriculture has stopped the export operations of 26 durian packing facilities after China rejected over 64 tonnes of durians found contaminated with Basic Yellow 2 (BY2). The shipment, worth over 12 million baht, was returned on February 7 following China's implementation of tougher inspection measures.

 

Raphiphat Chandrasriwong, Director General of the Department of Agriculture, disclosed that the Minister of Agriculture, Narumon Pinyosinwat, has put in place strict new measures to eliminate chemical contamination in Thai produce. These efforts aim to boost quality and safety standards, offering greater assurance to export markets.

 

Chaisak Rinkluan, head of the Plant and Agricultural Materials Control Division, confirmed that officials have buried the tainted durians under supervision at the Laem Chabang and Aranyaprathet inspection stations. The 64.67 tonnes of fruit were sent back by China, which began its BY2 check on January 10.

 

 

In response, the department has ordered full physical inspections on all durian exports to China to ensure quality and restore trust among consumers both locally and abroad. Durian samples are being retested in labs to verify contamination, and any contaminated fruit is destroyed.

 

Currently, the department has paused exports from 26 questionable packing houses while investigating the contamination source. They are revising the Exporting Quality Durians guide to strengthen inspection and control procedures. This aligns with the Ministry's "four no’s" policy: no immature durians, no pests, no unauthorised use, and no prohibited chemicals.

 

These efforts are intended to strengthen confidence in Thailand's agriculture inspection systems among Chinese customs and consumers.

 

-- 2025-02-07

 

 

[jaideedave]

Meanwhile the chinois are still sending tainted Muscat grapes to LOS.

I'm now very skeptical of anything edible coming from there. 

[NativeBob]

Interesting way to manage safety by using carcinogeneous substance. 

And even more funny that they simply buried those. Contaminating soil with toxic agent. Brilliant!

[Negita43]

So will "tainted" Durians appear on the Thai Market?

[Briggsy]

2 minutes ago, Negita43 said:

So will "tainted" Durians appear on the Thai Market?

I think you can be sure that they have been for years.

[Gaccha]

This is like banning someone from pouring mineral water into a sewage ditch. 

 

The Chinese market is infamous for food adulterated with chemical or biological poisons. Nothing can be trusted. It's so bad that not only can food from China not be trusted but even the clothes they export frequently lead to chemical poisonings.

 

China's behaviour is best explained as a form of displacement. They did the same thing with Japan's controlled release of radiation into the Pacific from the Fukushima plant.

 

Those radiation releases didn't even come close to the annual regular leaks into the sea by China, but the Chinese government still got their population to scream about Japan's "reckless" behaviour, without noticing their own government's far worse behaviour.

[John Drake]

With any luck, this scare will long term discourage durian exports to China and keep Thai durians in Thailand for awhile and get the prices back down to more reasonable levels.

[JimHuaHin]

I would prefer to read - Thailand haults imports of Chinese agricultural produce due to the presence of toxic chemicals.

[harryviking]

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

File photo for reference only

 

The Department of Agriculture has stopped the export operations of 26 durian packing facilities after China rejected over 64 tonnes of durians found contaminated with Basic Yellow 2 (BY2). The shipment, worth over 12 million baht, was returned on February 7 following China's implementation of tougher inspection measures.

 

Raphiphat Chandrasriwong, Director General of the Department of Agriculture, disclosed that the Minister of Agriculture, Narumon Pinyosinwat, has put in place strict new measures to eliminate chemical contamination in Thai produce. These efforts aim to boost quality and safety standards, offering greater assurance to export markets.

 

Chaisak Rinkluan, head of the Plant and Agricultural Materials Control Division, confirmed that officials have buried the tainted durians under supervision at the Laem Chabang and Aranyaprathet inspection stations. The 64.67 tonnes of fruit were sent back by China, which began its BY2 check on January 10.

 

 

In response, the department has ordered full physical inspections on all durian exports to China to ensure quality and restore trust among consumers both locally and abroad. Durian samples are being retested in labs to verify contamination, and any contaminated fruit is destroyed.

 

Currently, the department has paused exports from 26 questionable packing houses while investigating the contamination source. They are revising the Exporting Quality Durians guide to strengthen inspection and control procedures. This aligns with the Ministry's "four no’s" policy: no immature durians, no pests, no unauthorised use, and no prohibited chemicals.

 

These efforts are intended to strengthen confidence in Thailand's agriculture inspection systems among Chinese customs and consumers.

 

-- 2025-02-07

 

 

LOL! And that comes from a country that is probably exporting more poisonous goods than anyone else!!  A country where more than 80 pct of all freshwater is useless for anything at all??? 

[PETERTHEEATER]

Presumably the BY2 has been used on fruits to enhance the yellow colour of the segments. This would require an injection through the outer thin skin and near impossible to  detect prior to shipment. Surely Thai growers would not do this?😋

 

As to the Ministry's 'Four Nos)  what is 'no unauthorised use'?

[Richardsamui]

It is the laziness and greed by some Thai farmers. Pick the fruit early, give it some 'supplements' and sell fast. No time to ripen them more on the trees.

[bradiston]

I thought this had been resolved. Now it's cropped up again it seems. China had agreed to restart Thai turian imports, after banning them, but now it seems they've stopped again. What are the Thai producers doing? Or are these from Chinese proxy owned orchards/packing stations down Chantaburi way?

[John Drake]

49 minutes ago, bradiston said:

I thought this had been resolved. Now it's cropped up again it seems. China had agreed to restart Thai turian imports, after banning them, but now it seems they've stopped again. What are the Thai producers doing? Or are these from Chinese proxy owned orchards/packing stations down Chantaburi way?

 

I'm thinking it's the latter. The rumors I hear, and I have no idea how true they are, is that the Chinese have cut out the middlemen. They own and ship from the durian farms directly.

[digger70]

21 hours ago, Negita43 said:

So will "tainted" Durians appear on the Thai Market?

 

Yea For sure 

Some durian producers, particularly those exporting to countries like China, add dye to their durians to make the fruit appear more visually appealing by enhancing its yellow color, often using a dye called "Basic Yellow 2" (BY2), which can be a concern due to potential food safety issues. 

[hotchilli]

On 2/7/2025 at 6:04 PM, snoop1130 said:

The Department of Agriculture has stopped the export operations of 26 durian packing facilities after China rejected over 64 tonnes of durians found contaminated with Basic Yellow 2 (BY2). The shipment, worth over 12 million baht, was returned on February 7 following China's implementation of tougher inspection measures.

Naughty Thais.

I wonder if the Thai FDA has also stopped the sale from these packers to the domestic market?