Deadly Formalin In Food

[Jose]

Living in Thailand for a while now, we've come to learn what is common knowledge amongst locals - some fish and produce are often dipped in formalin to preserve freshness.

For example, recently be bought some beautiful choice tomatoes from the Royal Project - not cheap at x5 the regular price. To cut a long story short, the terrible formalin taste from the first bite of these beautifully preserved tomatoes left us completely breathless.

The Ministry of Public Health issued Act No. 151 (B.E.2536) specifies that the contamination of formalin in food is prohibited.

Formalin is an aqueous solution of Formaldehyde, which is deadly to living organisms.

Breathing Formaldehyde is considered deadly:

"Concentrations above 0.1 ppm formaldehyde in air can irritate the eyes and mucous membranes, resulting in watery eyes. If inhaled, formaldehyde at this concentration may cause headaches, a burning sensation in the throat, and difficulty breathing, as well as triggering or aggravating asthma symptoms. Formaldehyde is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and as having sufficient evidence that formaldehyde causes nasopharyngeal cancer in humans."

Ingesting it?

"Formalin belongs to that rare group of poisons which are capable of producing death suddenly when swallowed."

So, where does formalin come from?

"Looking To Buy Urgently Formalin 100 Metric Tons"

That's a lot of embalming...

And from the same people:

"We are looking for Used Cooking Oil (UCO or WVO) at least 100 MT/Week"

Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) is vegetable oil that has become unfit for food preparation. It doesn't take much to guess where this filtered toxic oil will end up - frying with waste cooking oil is a well known carcinogen.

Formalin test kits are available from the Ministry of Public Health at (02) 203 8846-9 for 18 Baht e/a plus 62 Baht delivery.

Beware and take care.

jose '-)

[lazeeboy]

Living in Thailand for a while now, we've come to learn what is common knowledge amongst locals - some fish and produce are often dipped in formalin to preserve freshness.

For example, recently be bought some beautiful choice tomatoes from the Royal Project - not cheap at x5 the regular price. To cut a long story short, the terrible formalin taste from the first bite of these beautifully preserved tomatoes left us completely breathless.

The Ministry of Public Health issued Act No. 151 (B.E.2536) specifies that the contamination of formalin in food is prohibited.

Formalin is an aqueous solution of Formaldehyde, which is deadly to living organisms.

Breathing Formaldehyde is considered deadly:

"Concentrations above 0.1 ppm formaldehyde in air can irritate the eyes and mucous membranes, resulting in watery eyes. If inhaled, formaldehyde at this concentration may cause headaches, a burning sensation in the throat, and difficulty breathing, as well as triggering or aggravating asthma symptoms. Formaldehyde is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and as having sufficient evidence that formaldehyde causes nasopharyngeal cancer in humans."

Ingesting it?

"Formalin belongs to that rare group of poisons which are capable of producing death suddenly when swallowed."

So, where does formalin come from?

"Looking To Buy Urgently Formalin 100 Metric Tons"

That's a lot of embalming...

And from the same people:

"We are looking for Used Cooking Oil (UCO or WVO) at least 100 MT/Week"

Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) is vegetable oil that has become unfit for food preparation. It doesn't take much to guess where this filtered toxic oil will end up - frying with waste cooking oil is a well known carcinogen.

Formalin test kits are available from the Ministry of Public Health at (02) 203 8846-9 for 18 Baht e/a plus 62 Baht delivery.

Beware and take care.

jose '-)

you never know what your eating ,glad i prepare my own food and always wash meat and veg ,hopefully tesco dont do this asthats wear i shop......

[emmezeta]

And from the same people:

"We are looking for Used Cooking Oil (UCO or WVO) at least 100 MT/Week"

Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) is vegetable oil that has become unfit for food preparation. It doesn't take much to guess where this filtered toxic oil will end up - frying with waste cooking oil is a well known carcinogen.

Uhm, in San Francisco they are using the used cooking oil from McDonalds as a fuel for public buses, mixed I think with 80% diesel

[Jose]

you never know what your eating ,glad i prepare my own food and always wash meat and veg ,hopefully tesco dont do this asthats wear i shop......

From Tesco Lotus FAQ page:

"We test for substances such as insecticides, Borax, and Formalin to increase the confidence of customers that, at Tesco Lotus, fresh food does not contain any hazardous substances."

Let's hope Tesco's testing is regular and thorough.

Too bad that the Royal Project's excellent quality control doesn't extend beyond their farms to the distribution network.

jose '-)

[sbk]

Raja Ferry buys used cooking oil for use in their ferries, Jose, it could very well be for biodiesel.

Fish from the market is suspect, my husband only buys from local fishermen. The large boats dip the fish in formalin to preserve the fresh appearance while they continue to fish, then bring it to the island and sell in the market. Better to get from local guys who go out every day. Ban Tai is better than Thong Sala for that.

[Jose]

Raja Ferry buys used cooking oil for use in their ferries, Jose, it could very well be for biodiesel.

That would explain the infernal amount of exhaust spewing out of those rust buckets.

Fish from the market is suspect, my husband only buys from local fishermen. The large boats dip the fish in formalin to preserve the fresh appearance while they continue to fish, then bring it to the island and sell in the market. Better to get from local guys who go out every day. Ban Tai is better than Thong Sala for that.

I've been to the Bantai markets a few times early morning and couldn't find any fresh seafood for sale then. Can you recommend a good time/day/place to find the local catch, SBK?

I couldn't help but notice some of the fish for sale in Thong Sala on this hot afternoon. With little or no ice covering the fish and no fly-fan above it, there were no flies at all hovering as one would expect. Maybe the flies are a lot smarter than we give them credit for.

Wilfully contaminating and poisoning food with formalin should be treated as a major criminal offence. We live in an insane world.

Be on the safe side - buy local produce!

jose '-)

[sbk]

early morning isn't necessarily the best time to check. also, remember alot of fish are seasonal for local fishermen. Starting next month will be the start of barracuda season. Now and the last few months is good for mullet. You should ask my husband, jose, next time you see him. He is not only an expert fisherman but also an expert fish buyer. He can recommend good sellers (on the Ban Tai road near the harbor thing that's been built) and what are the best fish to buy this time of year.

[Jose]

also, remember alot of fish are seasonal for local fishermen. Starting next month will be the start of barracuda season. Now and the last few months is good for mullet. You should ask my husband, jose, next time you see him. He is not only an expert fisherman but also an expert fish buyer. He can recommend good sellers (on the Ban Tai road near the harbor thing that's been built) and what are the best fish to buy this time of year.

Thanks for the excellent advice, SBK. In other words, for safe food buy local and in season.

Let's hope there is a barracuda season next - specially after the recent bottom trawling of the Bantai/Bankai shoreline by the big fishing boats. Our local neighborhood fisherman are saying there are no local fish this year...

jose '-)

Edited September 15, 2007 by Jose

[koheesti]

Living in Thailand for a while now, we've come to learn what is common knowledge amongst locals - some fish and produce are often dipped in formalin to preserve freshness.

For example, recently be bought some beautiful choice tomatoes from the Royal Project - not cheap at x5 the regular price. To cut a long story short, the terrible formalin taste from the first bite of these beautifully preserved tomatoes left us completely breathless.

I bought shark steaks in Florida once that had this crap in it. That was the first I had ever heard of it but one bite and you'll never forget it. Blechhhh!