Food At Bus Terminals, Train Stations Found Below Safety Standards: Thailand

[Yunla]

There was a fried-food / kebab/ late-night takeaway at a converted terraced-house near my home in the UK, run by an English couple who were cutting overheads by catching stray dogs & cats off the street, butchering them in the upstairs bathroom and serving the meat grilled as beefburgers.They were eventually caught because a drunk guy waiting for his order to arrive just wandered drunkenly upstairs looking for the customer WC (which didn't exist) and found this bathroom with like blood allover the walls and bits of cats and dogs allover the floor. The couple's business was shutdown but they were not jailed.

And they had a catering licence to sell cooked food ?, I hope the drunk guy contacted trading standards right away, regarding urban myths

I also worked in a high-street american burger chain in the UK in the late 80s early 90s, and saw the exact same things that are listed in this thread, about staff not washing hands, filthy staff bathroom, spitting in the bread-bun, dropping burgers on the floor then just flip them back onto the grill etc.etc. You get what you pay for. Makes me laugh when people think Thai dirt is somehow dirtier than European dirt.

[unanimosity]

Two places I would never eat a bus station nor a train station, bring your food with you from your favorite street stall from which you never get sick,

The last places you want to eat are where they don't depend on repeat business. Also, never eat in a place where there are no locals eating. Locals usually know.

[blakegeee]

Let me just say that if any Farang adult throws water at me in any shape or form, they will end up with a very sore face, so any of you stupid farangs who want to throw water at Farang strangers, make sure the person they try to throw water at is not six ft tall, dark hair, quite slim and very fit looking. You have been warned.

Another keyboard warrior joins the ranks of the `Hard men`

Yes; if I knew the colour of his handbag I would be looking out for him with bucket at the ready.

Trainman. You sure don't value your health, and Thai hospitals can be expensive.

...and Thai jails can be rough, so please go ahead and try assaulting every farang that throws water at you. Why not assault the locals too while you are at it big boy? Or does your fearlessness have limits after all?

Call me what you will, but I do target farang with a "mentality like yours"! And I have never encountered a Thai that acts like this, only arrogant, ignorant farang.

If you can't handle getting wet from strangers than lock yourself in your room, or leave the country. This IS what happens here. You will not and can not change this no matter how intimidating you try to make yourself.

[Xonax]

Men who touch female revellers inappropriately or molest them will be arrested.

What about women who touch men?

What about men or women touching ladyboys?

They´re just sick!

[harleyclarkey]

Food preparation in Thailand (in general) is unhygenic and dangerous.

Recently in Kata we stayed in an Inn with a well reviewed restaurant attached. We saw the rats in the corridor by the kitchen and the soon to be eaten food on filthy rusted tables right by the rat run......

In surat Tant bus station the food was disgusting and rotten. The stench from the chicken was nauseating. Same with the "fresh" meat and chickens in the local market.....check out the lovely shade of yellow and it was 34 degrees.

Edited April 11, 2012 by harleyclarkey

[riceyummm]

Must be my 67 year old cast iron intestinal system but after two years of almost daily eating of Thai street food, not a single instance of illness, upset stomach, diarrhea, etc. However my vision isn't what it used to be.

Ditto, but 27 years.

[nickjam]

Men who touch female revellers inappropriately or molest them will be arrested.

What about women who touch men?

Quite right. a woman took great amusement from fondling my moobs the other night. Could I get a reciprocal grope, not on your nelly!

[sandhurstmolonski]

_{I cant believe some of these comment regarding " Street Food " ..there is NOTHING better than wonderful Thai Street food in my view . Really ..Why are you here ?? If you want to change it into Farang world ..Forget it ! thats what Im getting away from . I decided 10 years ago ..to eat pretty much everything , to be strong and get myself conditioned . I have NEVER been ill since ..most Farangs are far too sensitive , and it comes from over sanitisation and " over clean " enviroments ..How do you get Golden Staf ..a hospital ! You need to work your imune system , and create a strong system that works ... and if things run free a little , let it flush your system just as the locals do .}

_{If you want to reproduce " Farang World " there are plenty of International chains ..these s*ck in my view ..}

_{Give me wonderful Thai street food anyday . If I didn't love it ..I wouldn't be easy ..Its very easy to sit back and Criticise , this is the best food in the World . If you want Canada , USA ,Australia , Europe ..Go to those places .}

Edited April 11, 2012 by metisdead
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[ableguy]

Which would prompt the most obvious question, was there any soap in the toilets?

Very well spotted!!!

No need for soap. Everyone knows that you use the left hand to wipe your bum, and you eat with the right hand. Sheeesh.

STILL NOT USEING A BUM GUN ?????

[jaywalker]

Thai's have a stomach like an ostrich.

I think my wife could eat broken glass as long as it was spicy.

The only time I ever got sick with food poisoning here was at McDonald's.

[Scott]

Posts with large font has been deleted.

[gemini81]

This WAS news...30 years ago? 50 years ago? Same sh*t different day.

[Fookhaht]

"The standards for street vendors is no different. Ever seen them wash the dishes? You'd never eat there again if you did. Cold water, no soap, same bucket all day. Perfect conditions for all sorts of nasties."

I quit my favorite noodle stall when I watched a dog take a pee in the unguarded, ground level, dishwashing basin.

[FOODLOVER]

We have a winner!

[gemguy]

I may be wrong and correct me if I am but there has seldom ever been a notable out break of bacterial infections found in the food here in Thailand that I know of or ever heard of.

Without a doubt all too many people commonly experience mild stomach infections originating from food born or water born pathogens that will make you sick enough and of course there will be a percent of people that fall deathly ill if the bacterial infection rapidly multiplys resulting in severe diarrhea or at worst the likes of botulism.

There are a dozen possibilities and according to the data the citizens at large tend to build up a certain amount of resistance to any levels of bacteria that would be considered above normal...but there is a limit of course to the resistance.

It is surprising there is not a lot more cases considering the conditons are somewhat near perfect for widespread bacterial infections to flourish.

At least the government is actually attemping to do something about it and warn the public to a degree but ultimately , even under more stringent sanitary conditions some pathogens will flourish and cause havoc with the citizens at large.

Some types of seafood should be avoided such as crabs or shellfish or seaweed that are continually subject to high levels of bacteria in the coastal waters because of raw sewage and effluents been dumped into the near by beaches and coast lines. In those areas local citizens still gather the sea food from highly polluted waters.

Contaminated meat is also a major source of bacterial infections more so than fruits or vegetables and of course dirty water can easily harbour a number of infectious pathogens.

If the food is already contaminated it does not really matter if it is prepared in a 4 star hotel and or 4 star restaurant.

It comes down to just how strong the bacterial contamination is within the effected food and the ability of the persons who consumed the food to fight the infection.

Each persons stomach has a long lsit of beneficial bacteria that helps control the over growth of various types of unfriendly bacteria that can often result in what is commonly referred to as food poisoning and beyond if it is a seriously strong infectious bacteria.

http://www.ehow.com/...h-bacteria.html.

Anyhow, sanitary conditions are a big part of preventing bacterial outbreaks in the food chain and I am surprised there is not more bacterial outbreaks and food poisoning happening considering the questionable conditions that the food is prepared and sold under.

[bigbamboo]

LOL! Anyone who has ever worked in any restuarant could tell you horror stories that would put you off ever eating out again! It's just a question of scale.

[pomchop]

Soap and paper in a Thai toilet? Other than occasional upscale shopping malls and hotels they are non existant.

Good quality arse paper in the Chiang Mai Ram Hospital. Fair do's. Plus soap to wash your hands and good running water. Whether used by others I am not sure....

Once went to a rural public hospital. In the waiting area they had a big water jug/cooler for common use. Had ONE metal cup tied by a string which ALL the people shared. In a hospital.

[Jerrytheyoung]

I guess no one here remembers, or saw, reports on all the food issues in the last few years in the U.S. Lots of Salmonella, E. Coli, Lysteria, etc. contamination in the food. And mad cow issues (spongiform encephalopathy).

Oh, but they conduct food handling courses! And have food inspection!

And you think its bad here? You should travel through Africa. And don't eat raw vegetable salad anywhere in South America.

BTW - having travelled for a few years through So. America and Africa, the middle east - I'm not afraid of the food stalls here in Thailand. Sort of like letting a kid eat dirt - builds up the immune system. LOL

The US is 5 or 6 times the size of Thailand, exports food -- other than rice -- all over the world and has agencies, rather transparent ones, reporting on any issues found.

Thailand has NO SUCH AGENCIES, so what you hear is a very small percentage of what actually happens here. Don't fool yourself into thinking that because you hear about things in the US ... that Thai food safety standars don't need to evolve. That's lazy logic.

But US food has no taste. I remember a Chritmas reveillon in Houston, we were a group of French, we see beautiful fresh oysters. We order our dozens: ouah!! it was washed with bleach!!! No germs but the stomach fully deteriorated by the bleach....

[hyperdimension]

Singapore has a grading system for food stalls that indicates the level of hygiene.

Cooked food stalls in hawker centres are subject to grading under the "Grading System For Eating Establishments And Foodstalls", which was introduced in 1997 to provide a structured system of appraisal for food outlets and to allow the NEA to discern the better performers in the F&B industry. The system aims to motivate stallholders to improve on their personal cum food hygiene practices and the upkeep of their premises.

Stalls that meet basic hygiene requirements are graded 'A', 'B', 'C' or 'D' according to their standard of cleanliness, housekeeping and hygiene. New stalls are freshly assessed while those in operation will be re-assessed on a yearly basis. Besides being assessed annually, stallholders who make good efforts to improve and sustain the cleanliness and hygiene of their business operations may request for a grading review.

Read more here: Grading of stalls

Notice the "B" sign:

Edited April 11, 2012 by hyperdimension

[jaywalker]

Posts with large font has been deleted.

Some folks may like large fonts. I've had to wear glasses since I was 5 years old.

[Jerrytheyoung]

Except the US food which is not a "gourmet"reference, coming back to the thread, I have run during 3 years a restaurant (western and Thai food) in Thailand. My Chef was International standard. The only poisoning we got is the day when the staff want to eat "Issan food" from the nearby stret shop: half of the kitchen staff sick.

But I have noticed a poor management of the refrigerator and also a permanent struggle for getting the stainless steel pans and fryers perfectly clean, without any stain. At home, I am teaching my miss how to manage the fiood in a fridge and as I want my stainless tools perfectly clean, I have to wash it by myself.

My conclusion is that is: There is a flaw in the education of the girls throughout Thailand. They have not been taught the basic at school and as the old generation has not a clue, Mothers cannot educate their daughters. EDUCATION ISSUE, should be solved at the primary school.

[Jerrytheyoung]

During the time I was posting, some were posting about Grades.

Sorry as restaurant we have gotten a certificate of Good food. There is a Thai Agency. But the survey is done superficially.

From my experience, the temperatures of the fridges are not checked as well as the verification of the food age. Not a clue about time to keep in a fridge. Smelling is the only working method, which is fully insuffiucient.

I repeat: Education issue should be solved at the level of the Primary school.

[sirchai]

There's no chance of the police arresting anyone for shooting water at riders on motorcycles during Songcran, about three years ago on a very busy road, there were two children about 12 years old doing just that at me, supervised by a female adult, I stopped my bike and gave the adult hell and all I got was "solly solly".

Let me just say that if any Farang adult throws water at me in any shape or form, they will end up with a very sore face, so any of you stupid farangs who want to throw water at Farang strangers, make sure the person they try to throw water at is not six ft tall, dark hair, quite slim and very fit looking. You have been warned.

Sorry for being off topic, commenting this post.

Your post scared the shit out of us! What's wrong with foreigners in LOS, celebrating Songkran and throwing water on each other?

I'm in Pai now and everybody's doing this already today on the 11th. Should I kick asses when foreigners do that to me, as I'm 7 ft tall, very muscular and got a well functioning brain.....

Guess it would be okay if an attractive, sexy female Farang would throw water at such a six foot tall, (?) dark hair (scary!) slim ( member of weight watchers). fit looking (but just looking)...NO!

You'd beat the shit out of her and tell her that she'd been warned......lol

It is possible that you haven't got the slightest sense of humor in the Land of Smiles....

Edited April 11, 2012 by sirchai

[Jerrytheyoung]

There's no chance of the police arresting anyone for shooting water at riders on motorcycles during Songcran, about three years ago on a very busy road, there were two children about 12 years old doing just that at me, supervised by a female adult, I stopped my bike and gave the adult hell and all I got was "solly solly".

Let me just say that if any Farang adult throws water at me in any shape or form, they will end up with a very sore face, so any of you stupid farangs who want to throw water at Farang strangers, make sure the person they try to throw water at is not six ft tall, dark hair, quite slim and very fit looking. You have been warned.

Your post scared the shit out of us! What's wrong with foreigners in LOS, celebrating Songkran and throwing water on each other?

I'm in Pai now and everybody's doing this already today on the 11th. Should I kick asses when foreigners do that to me, as I'm 7 ft tall, very muscular and got a well functioning brain.....

Guess it would be okay if an attractive, sexy female Farang would throw water at such a six foot tall, (?) dark hair (scary!) slim ( member of weight watchers). fit looking (but just looking)...NO!

You'd beat the shit out of her, right? Lol

It is possible that you haven't got the slightest sense of humor in the Land of Smiles....

Agree, In Thailand Songkran is the de stressing event of the year. If you are following a Carnival in Bintje (Belgium) and you receive oranges on your face you have to enjoy and participate to the festival. What to say, in Spain where in some Cities the Tomato battles are the rules.... Better you stay in your bed and do not move during Songkan.

[bigbamboo]

There's no chance of the police arresting anyone for shooting water at riders on motorcycles during Songcran, about three years ago on a very busy road, there were two children about 12 years old doing just that at me, supervised by a female adult, I stopped my bike and gave the adult hell and all I got was "solly solly".

Let me just say that if any Farang adult throws water at me in any shape or form, they will end up with a very sore face, so any of you stupid farangs who want to throw water at Farang strangers, make sure the person they try to throw water at is not six ft tall, dark hair, quite slim and very fit looking. You have been warned.

Possum ...(???)....good job it's Songkran because I'm sure everyone is just wetting themselves now.........laughing!

Edited April 11, 2012 by bigbamboo

[dunkin2012]

Somtam shop owners need to apply this Grading of stalls

Edited April 11, 2012 by dunkin2012

[FOODLOVER]

I guess no one here remembers, or saw, reports on all the food issues in the last few years in the U.S. Lots of Salmonella, E. Coli, Lysteria, etc. contamination in the food. And mad cow issues (spongiform encephalopathy).

Oh, but they conduct food handling courses! And have food inspection!

And you think its bad here? You should travel through Africa. And don't eat raw vegetable salad anywhere in South America.

BTW - having travelled for a few years through So. America and Africa, the middle east - I'm not afraid of the food stalls here in Thailand. Sort of like letting a kid eat dirt - builds up the immune system. LOL

The US is 5 or 6 times the size of Thailand, exports food -- other than rice -- all over the world and has agencies, rather transparent ones, reporting on any issues found.

Thailand has NO SUCH AGENCIES, so what you hear is a very small percentage of what actually happens here. Don't fool yourself into thinking that because you hear about things in the US ... that Thai food safety standars don't need to evolve. That's lazy logic.

But US food has no taste. I remember a Chritmas reveillon in Houston, we were a group of French, we see beautiful fresh oysters. We order our dozens: ouah!! it was washed with bleach!!! No germs but the stomach fully deteriorated by the bleach....

There is no bleach in fresh oysters.

[swerver]

POISON FOOD on SALE

How interesting.

What has happen during the PAST 50-year? NOTHING ABSOLUTE NOTHING

My private archive shows poisoned food for sale fifty (50) years ago, one of the archive info describes selling poison meatball at the school gates to children for their snack. I don’t want to go into all the other poison food for sale because it will not make one iota of a difference with the same happening in Thailand’s follow the leader, US of A.

Just one recent US of A example: April 9, 2012

Big Ag doesn’t advertise the chemicals it stuffs into animals

Two new scientific studies demonstrate that poultry on factory farms are routinely fed Caffeine, active ingredients of Tylenol, Benadryl, Prozac, banned antibiotics and even Arsenic.

“Big Ag doesn’t advertise the chemicals it stuffs into animals, so the scientists conducting these studies figured out a clever way to detect them. Bird feathers, like human fingernails, accumulate chemicals and drugs that an animal is exposed to.”

“It’s unbelievable what we found,” said Keeve E. Nachman, a co-author of both studies and a scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future.

“We haven’t found anything that is an immediate health concern,” we are told, but the effects of cumulative exposure are not always “immediate” are they?

Arsenic in Our Chicken?

Really there is no need to search my archive on US of A either.

[metisdead]

Posts with large font has been deleted.

Some folks may like large fonts. I've had to wear glasses since I was 5 years old.

Usage of large fonts is against the forum rules and is bad forum netiquette.:

Posting in all capitals or in all bold, and using large or unusual fonts and colors is bad netiquette.

[ydraw]

Men who touch female revellers inappropriately or molest them will be arrested.

What about women who touch men?

Thats ok, its only inappropriate when a man touches a women.

Last year some crazy broad got a hand full of tiger balm and rubbed it on my balls during Songkran festivities. I have never been in so much pain in my life.