Restaurant Hygiene Standards In Thailand

[JSixpack]

I reckon cooking only works out cheaper than eating out if you cook Thai dishes yourself...and then what's the point?

I guess the point would be the whole point of this thread, which you seem to have missed.

You have to consider the better quality of what you prepare for yourself.

Besides, "penny wise and pound foolish."

Edited September 25, 2013 by JSixpack

[stickylies]

if "rotten" meat or "bad" seafood gets well-cooked does it affect your health yes or no?

Edited September 29, 2013 by stickylies

[Mr Wimpy]

if "rotten" meat or "bad" seafood gets well-cooked does it affect your health yes or no?

Sent from my jungle hideout

[Mr Wimpy]

No simple yes or no answer to that question

Sent from my jungle hideout

[Crazy chef 1]

bottom line: food hygiene standars are really substandard in LOS!food hygiene standards in the west (haccp or even worst USPH) are over the top! may there could be a balance?and on the other hand it is also about resistance and imagination.i 've seen food handling practices in africa what we would consider as disgusting and nobody got sick but also have seen ppl got sick from 3 star michelin restaurants( not to mention a famous english chef). anyway how many Brit's are actually living here- got the feeling must be the majority of the farangs,isn'it?

[harryfrompattaya]

Some complaining go home to eat just that simple.

[bendejo]

Lets face it how many times have you been in a small cheap restaurant (and sometimes not cheap) and went to the toilet to find no soap or anything to dry the hands

Exactly what I found in the Thailand consulate in NYC. There was a toilet bowl and a washbasin, no soap or any sort of towel, didn't notice if there was toilet paper or a bum-gun. An authentic recreation.

Nepal is notorious for being filthy. Even in the cities of India the section where the Nepalis live will be noticibly dirtier. But maybe they're wising up.

I try to keep to food that appears to be clean and well-handled. There's a few tricks you'll have to work out, like what time of day etc. I'm all for street carts and situations where the food is on display and cooked in the open. Unfamiliar restaurants where the dish mysteriously emerges from a hidden room is a no-go, regardless of how expensive it is or how lovely the decor.

That said, probably the worst food poisoning I ever got in LOS was from a pre-cooked chicken bought at Tesco (the one near National Stadium).

Edited September 29, 2013 by bendejo

[sustento]

Last year I contacted a bacteria infection in Thailand and almost lost a leg from this. I have been going to Thailand every December for about 15 years and I do notice the Thai bathroom/toilets are never clean and have not been cleaned in years. When we eat in Pattaya at the beach I have never seen a street vendor clean his/her hands. It makes you wonder what they do after a valve movement???

[louse1953]

There's a Thai food safety act?

Yes, but it is more of an advisory board rather than an action board.

They ought to bring in laws and enforce them like they have in western countries, seeing as these businesses are serving food to millions of western people.

They have a course that food operators can attend and they get a certificate if they pass, and can display it in their restaurant/eatery. But I have never seen a single one. They should make it mandatory that any business selling food to the public has a certificate on display or they can not trade. They should send round inspectors to see that standards are being maintained, and they should revoke a certificate if there are failings.

It's not a major inconvenience to put this system in place.

Been here a looonng time and the only squerts I get is from beer sometimes.Eat local at all times including balaa.Haven't been to Nepal for a while but standards were far below Thailand.Those "specials" spun me out a bit but kept going back for more for some reason.I rekon you and your missus have a weak gut.Good way to lose weight though.

[JoeThePoster]

There's a Thai food safety act?

Act like it's safe when it's being served.

[louse1953]

Would love to see the great Gordon Ramsay do a series of "Kitchen Nightmares: Thailand Edition". Can't you just hear him now, exploding in profane rage, veins standing out all over his reddened face!

I eat a lot of local food, at some pretty low end places, and do occasionally pay the price. I have more than once bit into grains of sand in the food (maybe it was that try that feel into the road), and I figure that's luck of the draw, BUT:

My number one peeve is having to use a common towel, used by countless others, hanging from a rusty hook, to dry my hands at the lavatory. I always think..."Howard Hughes (infamous germophobe) would have loved this place!"

Gordon did a series on SE Asia.They were teaching him everything,but he caught on pretty quick.He was bombastic at the start but toned it down when he found himself out of his depth.One of the most culturally unaware persons I have seen,no homework down at all.

[kikoman]

One needs to do his homework on Thai food prior to going out to eat street food, Thailand's standards fit the needs of its resident population, I have eaten off Thai street food carts for over a decade, and cannot say how often I suffer from an upset stomach, which never has been a problem to me.

Thailand is a poor country my wife is in her early 40's and was in her twenty's when the village received it first electricity and much later when it was available to all, homes did not have refrigerators and the daily uneaten food was stored in a screened area and consumed during that day. Most Thai households purchase fresh food every morning to be consumed that day, as a result they have built up an immunity to different types of bacteria than westerners related to un-refrigerated food. The great majority of Thai's can eat un-refrigerated foods without a problem.

I have always have eaten Thai street food but I pick and choose what food to eat, I have always opted for hot food prepared on the spot after you order, as heat will kill most bacteria that my body is not used too. Thai food vendors usually prepare the food before going out to sell it, like the fried shrimp sold on the beach, which is cold, many non-Thai's may get sick from eating such foods, that is prepared in Thailand for mostly Thai consumption,

So if you only eat hot just cooked foods no problem, it should be quite safe.

To this day my wife and Thai family still store the food in a screened area for eating later in the day, all food they eat is fresh purchased daily at the morning markets or village fresh food truck market every day,

I am never served or consume that food, and that is the way they prefer.

Cheers:

Edited October 12, 2013 by kikoman