Thailand's Food And Drug Administration Imposes Penalties On Repeated Use Of Cooking Oil

[webfact]

FDA imposes penalties on repeated use of cooking oil

BANGKOK, 20 March 2013 (NNT) – The Food and Drug Association (FDA) has introduced a new penalty for food vendors found repeatedly using the same frying oils for cooking.

FDA Secretary-General, Dr. Boonchai Somboonsuk, said on Tuesday that a new Public Health Ministry announcement has been released to declare a penalty for food vendors, whose frying oils are found with POLAR compounds of over 25%, which is the maximum level allowed.

Dr. Boonchai stated that the new regulation has been initiated to protect consumers from excess polar compounds, which can cause high blood pressure, stroke and cancer.

He added that vendors, who are found guilty of over-using cooking oil, have been subject to a maximum fine of 10,000 baht, since March 13.

The FDA Secretary-General went on to say that, once corresponding law has been put into effect, the FDA will collaborate with related agencies to dispatch mobile test units to all parts of the country to conduct a test on cooking oil and to offer education on the right use of oil for cooking to both vendors and consumers.


-- NNT 2013-03-20

[gosompoi]

Zero chance of enforcement.

[lizardtongue]

Zero chance of enforcement.

And that's being generous! And as for getting 10k out of them would be less than zero!

[bushwacker]

What a great revenue stream for the inspector. The oil that I see being used is so dark and filled with old food particles that it would almost give you a heart attack without consuming any!

[cloghead]

This is priceless! Kids, you can't make this kind of shlt up. What "related agencies" will be tasked with enforcing this ridiculous regulation? If the police get involved they'll be thanking the FDA for another source of unaccountable bribes income to further add to their retirement fund...

"Hi Dad, how was your day? Well, Son...I busted six old ladies for cooking their noodles in used oil. Made 1500 baht and I plan on doing the same tomorrow unless my captain wants more $$$ for his cut."

[Markaew]

Zero chance of enforcement.

And that's being generous! And as for getting 10k out of them would be less than zero!

Yeah, but great potential for tea money.

[Kananga]

Oil money is the new tea money.

[Thaddeus]

Zero chance of enforcement.

Actually, I can hear the police shouting "We've struck oil"

[harryfrompattaya]

This is priceless! Kids, you can't make this kind of shlt up. What "related agencies" will be tasked with enforcing this ridiculous regulation? If the police get involved they'll be thanking the FDA for another source of unaccountable bribes income to further add to their retirement fund...

"Hi Dad, how was your day? Well, Son...I busted six old ladies for cooking their noodles in used oil. Made 1500 baht and I plan on doing the same tomorrow unless my captain wants more $$$ for his cut."

what type of ****head are you making fun of Thailand

You should be barred or never allow in Thailand I think I shall report you if this post take down

[johnsuma]

Are we all farang so bad people that we are all thinking the same thing...

The first think that come in our poor brain is tea

money more available for cops!

55555 what a great people these Thais...

Edited March 20, 2013 by johnsuma

[assayer]

This is priceless! Kids, you can't make this kind of shlt up. What "related agencies" will be tasked with enforcing this ridiculous regulation? If the police get involved they'll be thanking the FDA for another source of unaccountable bribes income to further add to their retirement fund...

"Hi Dad, how was your day? Well, Son...I busted six old ladies for cooking their noodles in used oil. Made 1500 baht and I plan on doing the same tomorrow unless my captain wants more $$$ for his cut."

what type of ****head are you making fun of Thailand

You should be barred or never allow in Thailand I think I shall report you if this post take down

Very very very very rich Harry-- get out of your house and take a look around. Nearly everyone in the Thai government is on the take!

[seajae]

bugger, there go the french fries that taste like chicken, pork, liver, banana etc

[EyesWideOpen]

This is priceless! Kids, you can't make this kind of shlt up. What "related agencies" will be tasked with enforcing this ridiculous regulation? If the police get involved they'll be thanking the FDA for another source of unaccountable bribes income to further add to their retirement fund...

"Hi Dad, how was your day? Well, Son...I busted six old ladies for cooking their noodles in used oil. Made 1500 baht and I plan on doing the same tomorrow unless my captain wants more $$$ for his cut."

what type of ****head are you making fun of Thailand

You should be barred or never allow in Thailand I think I shall report you if this post take down

Cloghead looks to be pretty well spot on to me.... I always wondered why when I ordered fried pork that it would sometimes tastes like fried fish. Now I know !!!!!

Regarding this being a new revenue stream for the police, think this one would be a bit weak. Better to stick to shaking down businesses and the endless " check points"...

Side note : Harry have you ever stopped to consider WHY TV members have such a low opinion of Thai police ??? If they were non corrupt wonderful public servants , we would be singing their praises. Instead the police are an object of scorn and the butt of jokes.

So I say som nam na !!!!!!!!!

Edited March 20, 2013 by EyesWideOpen

[spiritrace]

There is a fabulous restaurant here in the US that has the same oil since the early 1900's. It is one of the reasons the food is so fantastic.

I cook in a similar way and my Thai wife goes crazy over it. But my customers say it's the best. Not sure what the problem is in Thailand. Maybe there is something about it and the oil used.

[MilesCh]

what is a Polar Compound? "POLAR compounds of over 25%,..." Presumably particles from a food source other than that being cooked, or does it also include particles from the food currently being cooked, in other words, non-oil particles? Hell, the oil used is bad enough without adding to it!

[BrooklynNY]

I have seen many street vendors fried food with BLACK OIL !!!! and people don't seem to mind buying from those vendors. They like living on the edge.

[drdoom6996]

More sound bytes.

Is it me or are all the blogs today news less, as with no value, or not news worthy, or we've heard this before a hundred times.

Edited March 20, 2013 by drdoom6996

[Pimay1]

As a previous poster said this is unenforcable especially outside BKK. Kinda like the restriction on the sale of beer between certain hours. Any mom and pop shop will sell beer at any time. There are tens of thousands of if not more street vendors in this country and they will laugh at this edict.

[Nickymaster]

Come on guys, don't criticise other poster's grammar (because I might be next...... ).

[ShawnStorm]

Deep frying as a cooking method is unhealthy to begin with. The extreme heat creates a volatile situation which can chemically alter the oil and food components resulting in various compounds that are considered toxic by some. However, the resulting food is darn tasty and I myself still eat the stuff on a regular basis, especially when in Thailand.

The type of oil used is important when it comes to deep frying. Oils not meant for high temps will add to the negative health effects. Unfortunately, In Thailand, it seems like most of the food carts and restaurants use rather low quality oil that isn't meant for high temps.

On top of all this, the more an oil is used for deep frying, the less stable it becomes. Oil degradation can be measured by "polar compounds". Oil that has been used over and over becomes so degraded that all kinds of negative toxins and strange chemicals can be formed.

I am consistently amazed at how much deep fried food is sold and consumed in Thailand (and how much I personally eat the stuff even knowing it is unhealthy for me). I am also regularly shocked to see the condition of the deep fryers and the nasty looking oil within. Sometimes it seems like they have been using the same oil for days.

With all that said, I personally applaud the government for attempting to make a change. Will their fines and enforcement work? Probably not. At the very least, hopefully a little bit of awareness will spread around. I can only assume that many vendors would prefer to provide a healthier product instead of putting their customers in potential danger. Of course, money is a huge factor as well. Obviously the longer the oil is used, the cheaper their costs.

As with many things, a lot of this comes down to ignorance. Not just in Thailand, but many places in the world. I find that many Thai people want to do the right thing (or healthy thing in this case), and will change their habits once they are educated. I hope that in addition to the fines there is a public education campaign to help people understand how to cook in healthier ways using higher quality ingredients. Some people won't care, but I am guessing that some would.

-shawn

[seminomadic]

Every single person I tested would come up 45% polar compounds, whether true or not. Go get a real job and stop hogging sidewalk space and making Bangkokian kids even more bloated with your crappy food.

[seminomadic]

Deep frying as a cooking method is unhealthy to begin with. The extreme heat creates a volatile situation which can chemically alter the oil and food components resulting in various compounds that are considered toxic by some. However, the resulting food is darn tasty and I myself still eat the stuff on a regular basis, especially when in Thailand.

......I find that many Thai people want to do the right thing (or healthy thing in this case), and will change their habits once they are educated.

DDDDDUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[Card]

I remember a topic some time ago about - is Thai street food healthy? Loads of people were saying how delicious it was and how they've been eating it every day for 5, 10 or whatever years and it never did them any harm. When I pointed out about toxin buildup in re-used cooking oil due to chemical conversion as well as allowing pollutants from the street atmosphere to become absorbed more and more every time it was re-used, I was simply dismissed. It all boiled (!) down to the fact that they loved fried street food and it was cheap, so it must be OK, therefore I should shut my mouth. Well, here is more evidence.

[jamhar]

Theres a Thai FDA?

They better lace theirs shoes on tight

Cause They've got a lot of work to do.

[Card]

Deep frying as a cooking method is unhealthy to begin with. The extreme heat creates a volatile situation which can chemically alter the oil and food components resulting in various compounds that are considered toxic by some. However, the resulting food is darn tasty and I myself still eat the stuff on a regular basis, especially when in Thailand.

The type of oil used is important when it comes to deep frying. Oils not meant for high temps will add to the negative health effects. Unfortunately, In Thailand, it seems like most of the food carts and restaurants use rather low quality oil that isn't meant for high temps.

On top of all this, the more an oil is used for deep frying, the less stable it becomes. Oil degradation can be measured by "polar compounds". Oil that has been used over and over becomes so degraded that all kinds of negative toxins and strange chemicals can be formed.

I am consistently amazed at how much deep fried food is sold and consumed in Thailand (and how much I personally eat the stuff even knowing it is unhealthy for me). I am also regularly shocked to see the condition of the deep fryers and the nasty looking oil within. Sometimes it seems like they have been using the same oil for days.

With all that said, I personally applaud the government for attempting to make a change. Will their fines and enforcement work? Probably not. At the very least, hopefully a little bit of awareness will spread around. I can only assume that many vendors would prefer to provide a healthier product instead of putting their customers in potential danger. Of course, money is a huge factor as well. Obviously the longer the oil is used, the cheaper their costs.

As with many things, a lot of this comes down to ignorance. Not just in Thailand, but many places in the world. I find that many Thai people want to do the right thing (or healthy thing in this case), and will change their habits once they are educated. I hope that in addition to the fines there is a public education campaign to help people understand how to cook in healthier ways using higher quality ingredients. Some people won't care, but I am guessing that some would.

-shawn

Well you have just proved yourself wrong.

[HeijoshinCool]

Zero chance of enforcement.

Of course not, the inspectors will take a mere 500 baht to move on, and the cooking resumes.

[monty]

Have to agree.

Enforcement will not be brilliant if at all, but this doesn't mean the fda simply has to go sit on their behinds and do bugger all.

Realizing there is a problem and publicly anouncing this is already a big step in any Asian society and has to be applauded.

And even if the bib pocket some backhanders from the violating vendors, if only a few will realize having proper cooking oil will allow them to simply shoo the plod away, so much the better for the consumer.

[Pimay1]

Come on guys, don't criticise other poster's grammar (because I might be next...... ).

Not unless I post first

[HAL9000]

For those asking about polar compounds:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_frying

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20111017211411AAJcr7v

http://lipidlibrary.aocs.org/frying/c-newcpds/index.htm

[Pimay1]

Go down to the local street food vendor and ask them what is polar compounds. Next we will see there is a 300 million Baht fund to educate people on polar compounds.