Formalin poisoning from street food

[zazezo]

i live in a Prasing area apartment. During this songkran a young thai woman resident

became very seriously ill. She arrived at the C-M Ram emergency room barely conscious.

The doctors there determined that the cause was FORMALIN contamination of the

street-vendor grilled squid she ate earlier. Five hours at the hospital, and a bhat 10,000

bill for treatment.

Welcome to Thailand and BON APETIT!

Edited April 27, 2014 by zazezo

[thepool]

A quick cure and very cheap !

Only 5 hours to cure a "seriously ill" person ?

[zazezo]

A quick cure and very cheap !

Only 5 hours to cure a "seriously ill" person ?

Had it been your own body and your own money, you might find it less amusing.

[thepool]

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A quick cure and very cheap !

Only 5 hours to cure a "seriously ill" person ?

Had it been your own body and your own money, you might find it less amusing.

i always find gross exaggeration coupled with hyperbole " amusing "

[Thighlander]

Hottest part of the year....700 km from the gulf....add a little anti-freeze to the Ya-ba, and a few beers that are clearly marked as a year old.....dirty glass....dirty ice....A Thai going to RAM; that's suspicious in itself.

[wooloomooloo]

Excellent thread. But what's it about?

[FolkGuitar]

Ingestion (of formaldehyde ) can lead to immediate deleterious effects on almost all systems of the body including gastrointestinal tract, central nervous system, cardiovascular system and hepato-renal system, causing gastrointestinal hemorrhage, cardiovascular collapse, unconsciousness or convulsions, severe metabolic acidosis and acute respiratory distress syndrome. No specific antidote is available. Treatment of toxicity is supportive care of the various organ systems. Multidisciplinary approach is required for proper management.

... and in just five hours. Now THAT is what I call a speedy, multidisciplinary cure!

[wooloomooloo]

... and in just five hours. Now THAT is what I call a speedy, multidisciplinary cure!

I now understand the OP was extolling the virtues of Thai medicine and what can be achieved within five hours of the initial poisoning. Amazing.

[Oscar2]

Hottest part of the year....700 km from the gulf....add a little anti-freeze to the Ya-ba, and a few beers that are clearly marked as a year old.....dirty glass....dirty ice....A Thai going to RAM; that's suspicious in itself.

what's wrong with you? have you ever been to C.M. RAM? the patients are about 90% Thai like EVERY hospital in Thailand.

[Tywais]

Hottest part of the year....700 km from the gulf....add a little anti-freeze to the Ya-ba, and a few beers that are clearly marked as a year old.....dirty glass....dirty ice....A Thai going to RAM; that's suspicious in itself.

what's wrong with you? have you ever been to C.M. RAM? the patients are about 90% Thai like EVERY hospital in Thailand.

I agree. Every time I've gone the vast majority are Thai and not all Hi-so.

[zazezo]

... and in just five hours. Now THAT is what I call a speedy, multidisciplinary cure!

I now understand the OP was extolling the virtues of Thai medicine and what can be achieved within five hours of the initial poisoning. Amazing.

A couple of days after the event, when she was mostly recovered, she described having

experienced severe abdominal pain, facial swelling, numbness in her extremities, and difficulty

breathing. She thought that she was dying.

Her boyfriend had eaten the same food at the same place and time, and he experienced

no ill effects.

I did not witness these events, and have only reported precisely what I was told by the

person involved,.having no reason to disbelieve her story.

Having already stated everything I know regarding this matter, I am outta' here,

leaving the remains for the buzzards and jackals to fight over.

[edwardandtubs]

The use of formalin by street vendors has been reported by mainstream Thai media and government inspectors. This thread just proves that a lot of posters don't want to believe that their beloved street food is toxic garbage,

[Thighlander]

Absolutely,

from now, on, I will only eat at TV sponsored restaurants, even if the beer is a year old and they turn the refrigeration off at closing to save $$$$.

[bamboozled]

I appreciate you reporting this. And there is no reading between the lines in my post (u c it's only 1 line!) Thanks for taking the time.

[Ulysses G.]

I've been eating street food here for two decades and only got sick once - an egg dish sitting in the sun during hot season. I think that she just had bad luck.

[Tywais]

Keep the corpse-preserver out of our food

The Nation March 13, 2014 1:00 am

Consumers need to learn some basic facts to guard against formalin, and authorities need to crack down on this longstanding practice

Most consumers will have been shocked by the news that fresh food and meat sold at markets and at several northeastern-style hot-pot shops was laced with formalin. The chemical poses a risk to health and its use in food has been prohibited.

Department of Health tests on food sold at markets in several provinces found much of it was contaminated with formalin. In some cases as many as 59 per cent of collected samples were found to contain the chemical. The contaminated foods included shrimp, squid and vegetables. Separate tests by the Food and Drug Administration found that 20 per cent of meat sampled at hot-pot shops was contaminated with a substance often used to preserve human corpses before cremation or burial.

Formalin is a strong solution of formaldehyde in liquid form, commonly used as a disinfectant or an embalming agent. But it also used illegally to preserve vegetables, fruits, meats and seafood. As such, formalin contamination has long been a major problem for Thailand's food industry.

Formalin is toxic and a potentially lethal carcinogen. People who ingest food laced with the preservative can experience irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, coughing, skin rashes, headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and nosebleeds. Those who deal directly with formalin, such as vendors and workers at food shops, also risk health problems, ranging from eye and respiratory irritation to serious breathing difficulties, lung inflammation and pulmonary congestion.

Read more here - The Nation

-- The Nation March 13, 2014

[Tywais]

Thai health ministry warns of increasing use of formalin by vendors at fresh markets

BANGKOK: -- The Public Health Ministry has warned consumers to be aware of buying fresh food and vegetable at fresh markets as now use of formalin among vendors is increasing and could be hazardous to their health.

Vendors are found to use formalin to keep their merchandise fresh.

The ministry’s permanent secretary Dr Narong Sahametapat said formalin poses serious harm to both consumers and vendors due to severe side effects associated with the chemical.

He said formalin is a solution containing 40% formaldehyde.

Health officials found the use of the corpse-preserving substance at five fresh and weekly markets in Nakhon Sawan late last month.

According to him the Department of Health officials collected 275 food samples from two fresh markets and three weekly markets in Nakhon Sawan Muang district, Thatako and Chum Saeng districts.

They found that 102 samples or 37% contained formalin. At major fresh markets, formalin was found in as many as 59% of collected samples.

They said foods that were found to be contaminated included squid, shrimp, chopped ginger, chopped finger root, straw mushrooms, grey oyster mushrooms, black mushrooms, long beans and oak-leaf ferns.

More here - Expatpersective

[Showbags]

Not just street vendors...tis used in markets on a lot of the food you buy....expecting fresh and clean....to take home to cook.

The other day we were at our village leaders house, his wife has a stall at the local evening market every day.....she told my missus of the vast amounts of people using chemicals and poisons to help their produce along, getting it ripe, keeping it ripe and fresh looking to sell across the board....even bananas she said.

Some time ago we started buying as much organic foods as possible from farms directly or a shop or 2 that specialise in it.

We maybe have 60/70% of vegetables now from those sources....and at least that has cut down the possibility of ingesting so much of this rubbish these nasty little selfish inconsiderate &lt;deleted&gt; people use on their produce.

[cooked]

I know many people think I'm crazy for growing vegetables myself. Many farmers have one crop for the market and a small one for their family. Bear also in mind that it can be difficult to find information about correct dosages and even more difficult to find measuring devices.

[tropico]

Social responsibility is something really missing in Thailand!

From the fire and smoke problems, driving, food chemicals, etc etc.

Benefits for one are paramount and it does not matter if others suffers.........its sad and dangerous!

[NativeBob]

and yet most of my friends are still happy to eat at the food stalls and centers MSG overloaded soups and fried "whatevers"

Told dozens of them about the danger of their beloved cheap and tasty thai food, no success.

The replies are mostly like these:

-thais are eating it and I see no corpses on the streets"

-If it is that bad, why the queues are long and every 5 meters food stall?

-all food is boiled or fried so no need to worry

-the chilli kills bacteria and worms

To convince even 1 person that it is (as it was mentioned earlier) toxic garbage is almost the same as talking to religious fanatic. They just don't follow... (

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I did not witness these events, and have only reported precisely what I was told by the

person involved,.having no reason to disbelieve her story.

I have no reason to disbelieve your story either.

It's just that there are so many trolls of this type. Or even if not trolling on purpose, a lot of it tends to get lost in translation; for example it's exceptionally unlikely to link a condition to a particular meal.

Having already stated everything I know regarding this matter, I am outta' here, leaving the remains for the buzzards and jackals to fight over.

Yes, that's pretty typical too.

[bamboozled]

It just seems so hopeless trying to avoid it. We are, basically, screwed. Better to go down laughing than go down complaining about it.

[northernjohn]

Keep the corpse-preserver out of our food

The Nation March 13, 2014 1:00 am

Consumers need to learn some basic facts to guard against formalin, and authorities need to crack down on this longstanding practice

Most consumers will have been shocked by the news that fresh food and meat sold at markets and at several northeastern-style hot-pot shops was laced with formalin. The chemical poses a risk to health and its use in food has been prohibited.

Department of Health tests on food sold at markets in several provinces found much of it was contaminated with formalin. In some cases as many as 59 per cent of collected samples were found to contain the chemical. The contaminated foods included shrimp, squid and vegetables. Separate tests by the Food and Drug Administration found that 20 per cent of meat sampled at hot-pot shops was contaminated with a substance often used to preserve human corpses before cremation or burial.

Formalin is a strong solution of formaldehyde in liquid form, commonly used as a disinfectant or an embalming agent. But it also used illegally to preserve vegetables, fruits, meats and seafood. As such, formalin contamination has long been a major problem for Thailand's food industry.

Formalin is toxic and a potentially lethal carcinogen. People who ingest food laced with the preservative can experience irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, coughing, skin rashes, headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and nosebleeds. Those who deal directly with formalin, such as vendors and workers at food shops, also risk health problems, ranging from eye and respiratory irritation to serious breathing difficulties, lung inflammation and pulmonary congestion.

Read more here - The Nation

-- The Nation March 13, 2014

Not trying to belittle the article but it is not complete. Yes these products in the food are not good. My question is what if they were not in the food how much would the lack of preservatives hurt.

I don't know the answer but it is easy to see where it can be a 50/50 proposition with the other alternative being to raise the prices. Which many Thais are struggling with now. Remember we are in Thailand and far more wealthy than most Thais.

One other thing the article could have led me to believe that I was ingesting this poison because of my eye irritation when I know that is not the reason and I know the solution for stopping it.

[Chicog]

Her boyfriend had eaten the same food at the same place and time, and he experienced

no ill effects.

Which makes you wonder if it was more likely an allergic reaction than poisoning.

[connda]

Exactly what street vendor and where? This is making it sound like Formalin in prevenent in CM street food.

I've been sick after eating in Chiang Mai 2 times. Never from a street vendor; both times from well know, multinational fast food establishments. I trust the food on the street.

[tomyumchai]

i know 2 or 3 thais now that have gone from eating seafood all week long to 'almost dying' overnight after eating squid or prawn. the last 1 was 1 month ago and she was in hospital for a week, i couldnt recognise her as her face swelled up like a balloon. that was after eating squid. im wondering if theyre reacting to the chemical in the squid, rather than the squid its self?

[klauskunkel]

Social responsibility is something really missing in Thailand!

From the fire and smoke problems, driving, food chemicals, etc etc.

Benefits for one are paramount and it does not matter if others suffers.........its sad and dangerous!

What's also missing are penalties that fit the crime and law enforcement.

[connda]

i know 2 or 3 thais now that have gone from eating seafood all week long to 'almost dying' overnight after eating squid or prawn. the last 1 was 1 month ago and she was in hospital for a week, i couldnt recognise her as her face swelled up like a balloon. that was after eating squid. im wondering if theyre reacting to the chemical in the squid, rather than the squid its self?

Seafood and shellfish allergies are common, and having successfully eaten shellfish before doesn't necessarily mean you wont' have an allergic reaction in the future. Benadryl or other antihistamines are your friends.

[mikemac]

The use of formalin by street vendors has been reported by mainstream Thai media and government inspectors. This thread just proves that a lot of posters don't want to believe that their beloved street food is toxic garbage,

Sorry, but rubbish !

I have been eating disgusting street food since 2004 in Thailand, Vietnam, China, India, Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos and Cambodia and have never been made sick by it. The only time I ever suffered from food poisoning was in Chiang Rai when I bought some beef mince from BigC and made meat pies at home. Thought I had died and gone to hell.