Villa Market Users Beware!

[JacknDanny]

Some relevant information for Villa Market users. I do not know if the following information relates to all the Villa stores, but I can assure you that it relates to Phaholyothin Soi 8.

In this store they sell bacon made by Yorkies of Pattaya(an excellent bacon)

Whilst doing my usual purchase I noticed that most of the packs had had their Yorkies sell by date stickers covered by Villa market stickers. Having a crafty peel back I noticed that the Yorkies sell by dates were several weeks out of date, and yet the Villa stickers showing were current!!!!. In the UK totally illegal, I would imagine the same here?

I complained to the store boss who immediately withdrew the whole consignment from the shelves.

I went in today 3 days after my previous visit and guess what? Yep every pack had now had each of its out of date stickers removed and just had a current Villa sticker.

Complaining again just got a smile and a shrug of the shoulders saying that the big boss told her to put them out on display!!!!!!!

Just letting you people know out there!!

[astral]

Thanks for the warning.

TIT.

[chingy_]

interesting, i'll check the product date next time im in there

[dr_Pat_Pong]

interesting, i'll check the product date next time im in there

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Both dates

[kat]

Too much. You call them on their dishonest vending practices and they simply recall the product to refine their treachery. All this while food standards and safety are supposed to be improving. This just proves the point that nothing will ever improve until ethics are either instilled or enforced. But who is going to enforce regulations or standards?; we go around, and around.

Thanks for the heads-up. I'll be checking everything now, including food from Villa's.

[Kringle]

Might make more sense to complain to the people that make the product and not the seller. Whoever stocks this should pull out of date stock or the manufacturer doesn't care either and then that would tell a different story.

[grahamb]

Thanks for the info on this one (and also the info that they sell good bacon there if it is ever within the sell-by date!)

You are lucky that they took it off the shelves - my wife had a similar case with cheese in one of the Villas (can't remember which one) and they just shrugged their shoulders and left it on sale. She left her shopping and walked out!

[Ajarn]

As a long time enjoyer of food , I feel this is one of the biggest downsides to living here, and likely at least a partial result of a corrupted society.

I KNOW I can't trust any food here to be safe to eat if it means that ANYBODY along the line to the consumer can make an extra baht, or gain something else by deception... Sad to say that, but I've never seen any kind of consistent enforcement of most any law/regulation (except regarding farangs, maybe)..... Ironically, it can work in your favour, too, such is the seductive nature of the beast...

Sometimes I feel in control of my life here, sometimes I feel like I'm simply along for the ride.

Anyway, at least we have the capacity to inform each other, and that certainly helps to make us all better consumers. Education is always a key to change. I know I won't be buying any meat at Villa, and I'll pay even more attention to such issues next time I'm in the market.

Good reminder that, as always here, Buyer Beware.

Thanks for the report.

[JacknDanny]

Thanks for the info on this one (and also the info that they sell good bacon there if it is ever within the sell-by date!)

You are lucky that they took it off the shelves - my wife had a similar case with cheese in one of the Villas (can't remember which one) and they just shrugged their shoulders and left it on sale. She left her shopping and walked out!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The problem is that if they are removing the TRUE sell by date and replacing it with a bogus one, then you will never know!!!

I tend to agree with Ajarn and from now on will probably be buying my meat elsewhere

[taxexile]

Anyway, at least we have the capacity to inform each other, and that certainly helps to make us all better consumers. Education is always a key to change. I know I won't be buying any meat at Villa, and I'll pay even more attention to such issues next time I'm in the market.

Good reminder that, as always here, Buyer Beware.

Thanks for the report.

i second those comments.

[andy50]

if you buy food elsewhere , how do you know its any better?if the whole system is corrupt there arnt any guarantees anywhere you shop

[srisatch]

Well there is a turn up for the 'books'

I had forgotten about this. When we lived in Bangkapi we used to go to Villa to buy bread. One day my wife comes home with 'a loaf'. Open the packet.Green inside. She goes back to Villa and shouts..this is a Thai..Two days later..want more bread..oh she says I will go and see if Villa bread any better. True..All date stamps either erased or overstuck We never went back, ..for anything..suggest you do not..if that is till going on!

[Ajarn]

if you buy food elsewhere ,    how do you know its any better?if the whole system is corrupt there arnt any guarantees anywhere you shop

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Excactly. That's the 'along for the ride' part mentioned above..

[Insight]

Anyway, at least we have the capacity to inform each other, and that certainly helps to make us all better consumers. Education is always a key to change. I know I won't be buying any meat at Villa, and I'll pay even more attention to such issues next time I'm in the market.

Good reminder that, as always here, Buyer Beware.

Thanks for the report.

i second those comments.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thirded (such a word? ). Thanks for the heads-up.

[RDN]

And the problem is, if you DO make them take old stock off the shelves, they'll just stop stocking it altogether because it'll be too much trouble to sell expensive farang food with a short shelf life.

"short shelf life" Get your Thai g/f to say that a few times!

[Ajarn]

And the  problem is, if you DO make them take old stock off the shelves, they'll just stop stocking it altogether because it'll be too much trouble to sell expensive farang food with a short shelf life.

"short shelf life"      Get your Thai g/f to say that a few times!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Reminds me of buying mayonaise at Kasem Store and choosing the bottle with the whitest contents, and the Skippy was about 3 years out of date.... At least for farang stuff, it's a lot better now...

[kat]

ok, so now we have a few incidents in a matter of hours that support the first post of this thread.

But Tops Supermarket is pretty much ok ...... right? I assume so because there is a much higher turn-over there.

[RDN]

.... there is a much higher turn-over there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That is the key - "turnover". Which is why I'm surprised that Villa doesn't have a high enough turnover to keep their stock fresh.

[sriracha john]

For future reference, it might be advantageous to inform the market that you are citing the below sections of the Food Act of 2522 from the Food and Drug Administration and will be phoning the Food Control Divison at 02-590-7186 to report them as a violator.

If you want changes to a system, you have to take action.

[JacknDanny]

For future reference, it might be advantageous to inform the market that you are citing the below sections of the Food Act of 2522 from the Food and Drug Administration and will be phoning the Food Control Divison at 02-590-7186 to report them as a violator.

If you want changes to a system, you have to take action.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks John. Section 27(4) is exactly what they are contravening. Tomorrow I will give it a call, although I am not holding my breath!!!

[RDN]

...Thanks John. Section 27(4) is exactly what they are contravening. Tomorrow I will give it a call, although I am not holding my breath!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, excellent John. And JacknDanny, please let us know how you get on!

[Heng]

Just about every single branch (that I've seen anyway) of Marks and Spencer here does it as well. -1 for Central (or whoever runs the M&S here).

[sriracha john]

...Thanks John. Section 27(4) is exactly what they are contravening. Tomorrow I will give it a call, although I am not holding my breath!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, excellent John. And JacknDanny, please let us know how you get on!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

mai pen rai, guys. Just trying to help and I know it's always good to have some ammunition when hunting bear. awaiting Jack's response....

[wamberal]

Reality check, guys. Let's assume that you can rely on the use-by date being correct for refrigerated, perishable food.

But how on earth do you know that it has been handled correctly, kept at the right temperature, consistently from the factory, through transportation to Thailand, off-loading, customs, to the distributor, to the supermarket.....and while in the supermarket there has never been a power outage or any other mishandling of the food?

The only safe thing to do, realistically, is to "go native" as far as eating perishable foods is concerned. Eat what you can see and verify as fresh. Otherwise forget about it. Use-by dates are the least of your problems.

[grahamb]

But how on earth do you know that it has been handled correctly, kept at the right temperature, consistently from the factory, through transportation to Thailand, off-loading, customs, to the distributor, to the supermarket.....and while in the supermarket there has never been a power outage or any other mishandling of the food?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Very true... I know a guy from the UK who works in retail distribution in Korea and previously in the UK. Apparently the way food is distributed in Korea would break every rule in the UK (wrong temperature, etc.) If that is how it is handled in Korea, I can't imagine Thailand is much better.

By the way, for fresh meat, the Big C further up Paholyothin road is much better - my wife won't buy any fresh meat in the Villa on Soi 8. The stuff in Big C is much fresher and better quality, no doubt because of the higher turnover...

[sriracha john]

Reality check, guys.  Let's assume that you can rely on the use-by date being correct for refrigerated, perishable food.

But how on earth do you know that it has been handled correctly, kept at the right temperature, consistently from the factory, through transportation to Thailand, off-loading, customs, to the distributor, to the supermarket.....and while in the supermarket there has never been a power outage or any other mishandling of the food?

The only safe thing to do, realistically, is to "go native" as far as eating perishable foods is concerned.  Eat what you can see and verify as fresh.  Otherwise forget about it.  Use-by dates are the least of your problems.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The only problem with your "go native" theory is that it is certainly not all that safe either. I do eat mostly eat local products, but it's absolutely not without it's own risks as these three (there are dozens more available) reports indicate:

Most fresh markets still far from meeting health standards

Despite heavy campaigns for food safety during the past couple of years, only about one-third of fresh markets countrywide have been found to meet health standards.

Only 553 out of 1,505 fresh markets inspected in the country met food-safety standards set by the Public Health Ministry, said Dr Vichai Thienthavorn, director-general of the ministry's Department of Health.

The numbers are even worse in the capital, with only 20 out of 156 fresh markets, or 12 per cent, meeting the ministry's standards.

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Contaminated foods still remain part of our daily diet

More than halfway through 2004, a year designated by the Thaksin administration as Food Safety Year, the food the people in this country eat every day is anything but safe. How can our food ever be safe if fruit and vegetables continue to be laced with insecticide, if meat is contaminated with the harmful residue of livestock pharmaceuticals, if preserved food is tainted with germs and microbes and seafood is loaded with heavy metals?

If the latest survey by the Department of Medical Sciences is any guide, Thailand has a long way to go before universal food safety, the very goal of the government’s Food Safety Year campaign, exists.

According to the department’s latest survey of som tam (papaya salad), one of the most popular Thai dishes, 67 per cent of the samples taken from different locations around the country, including everything from roadside and market stalls to air-conditioned food courts and restaurants, were found to contain germs and microbes that cause diarrhoea, food poisoning and other illnesses.

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Raid finds contaminated pork

A large quantity of pork contaminated with banned chemicals was discovered during the government's largest-ever food safety inspection at a major fresh-meat market in Bangkok Noi yesterday morning.

Up to 85 per cent of the 13 samples taken from each pork vendor tested positive for Salbutamol, an agent mixed into pig feed to improve the colour of the meat. Fourteen per cent of 28 samples of pork mince were found to contain borax, said Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan.

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As an addendum, "Eat what you can see and verify as fresh" is only marginally effective as you can't "see" insectides, borax, and the other chemicals discussed.

Many are specifically put in to make the meats, fruits, etc. "look" better and more appetizing.

Bon appetite everyone.

Edited March 16, 2005 by sriracha john

[Jai Dee]

.... there is a much higher turn-over there.

That is the key - "turnover". Which is why I'm surprised that Villa doesn't have a high enough turnover to keep their stock fresh.

Have you ever seen them re-stocking the shelves?

In Tops they always bring the old stock to the front and put the new stock at the back.

Perhaps in Villa the re-stockers are too lazy to do that and just put the fresh stock on top of the old stock... the old keeps getting older...

[Oleg_Rus]

Have you ever seen them re-stocking the shelves?

In Tops they always bring the old stock to the front and put the new stock at the back.

Perhaps in Villa the re-stockers are too lazy to do that and just put the fresh stock on top of the old stock... the old keeps getting older...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Jai Dee, may I re-phrase you - have you ever seen them "NOT re-stocking" shelves ? I went to dept. store in the early morning opens - exactly re-stocking!

a bit off-topic: Optics shop near Chula Univ made "promotion of 80% sale" for expired contact lenses. He simply cut plastic tag with date. That IS scary!

[chanchao]

I stick to fresh sai ua sausages from the market.

That said I recently made an almost archeological discovery in my fridge which was a aluminum foil package with a 'best use by' date about a year go. Also the label had vanished so decided to continue my research to see what it was. Turns out if was the cheese fondue my sister had brought for me like 2 years ago.. And... it was still pretty good! The dog liked it, even my wife liked it!! Amazing.

Sorry, carry on.

[Thaiboxer]

I'm not suprised to hear about a major supermarket chain trying to sell outdated food...corporate greed at work. Many of the small mom and pop stores will stock outdated stuff and I once saw some Pepsi Blue that was a few months expired. I didn't buy it, but then again old Pepsi isn't nearly as serious as old meat. I don't think bacteria would thrive in an environment as acidic as Pepsi.

As one poster mentioned, food passes through several different places before ending up on the supermarket shelves so if somebody screws up at the meat packing facility, it probably won't matter much what the supermarket does or doesn't do. There are two excellent books related to this subject. "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair describes the meat packing factories in the US at the dawn of the 20th Century. "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser desrcibes the US based fast food giants and some of the stuff they do plus what goes on in meat factories today. The sanitary conditions haven't changed much and many meat packing plants are as dirty as the bathrooms at Chatuchak Market. I would imagine that this is the same case in many other countries.

Perhaps a few calls to the Health Dept. and maybe an attached file email showing those regulations somebody posted might get their attention.