Are the potatoes , carrots (also corns, grapes etc) in supermarket GMO?

[susanschwaiger]

I see in Makro potatoes/carrots are imported products, but they don't have the labels like those on apples that I can get the info easily.

I've read from web that for normal imported stuff, the label contains 4 numbers; and if 5 numbers, starting with 9 means organic, starting with 8 means GMO.

I know the safer way is to eat local and current season vegetables and fruits. But some plants don't grow in Thailand so I have to buy the imported ones.

If you are familiar with GMO situation in Thailand, please share a bit in a simple, neat, terse way. English is not my mother language Thank you for sharing!!!

[marstons]

Think you will find local grown produce covered in pesticides, organic is a definition which allows tolerances of what is actually Organic, example organic eggs come form hens that roam free on a by square footage basis.

Presently gm crops banned in Thailand, use of glyphospate and paraquat unrestricted. In UK paraquat is a registered poison and can only be sold to professional bodies, each sale recorded in poison register and regularly inspected by police. here its available in home Pro!

Thailand is heading towards GM crops especially papaya as its developed a GM seed resistant to disease that requires pesticides. So basically if its home grown GM free but full of poison.

[KittenKong]

I dont trust the bona fides of Thai produce much. I trust Chinese produce even less.

If you want quality food best grow it yourself, or buy from the man down the road who grows it himself and who doesn't have a stack of empty pesticide cartons in his yard. Most of the rest will be contaminated with something or another.

[JesseFrank]

I dont trust the bona fides of Thai produce much. I trust Chinese produce even less.

If you want quality food best grow it yourself, or buy from the man down the road who grows it himself and who doesn't have a stack of empty pesticide cartons in his yard. Most of the rest will be contaminated with something or another.

So where do you get your fruit and vegetable from ?

[KittenKong]

So where do you get your fruit and vegetable from ?

Tesco.

I said that I didnt trust the produce, not that I didnt buy it.

At my age it probably wont be pesticides that kill me.

[tropo]

So where do you get your fruit and vegetable from ?

Tesco.

I said that I didnt trust the produce, not that I didnt buy it.

At my age it probably wont be pesticides that kill me.

They will contribute to your aging and death. By how much we will never know.

[craigt3365]

My wife has a solution that she soaks all veggies in for 30 minutes before cooking. This article is scary:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/The-pesticides-on-our-plates-30188702.html

And this one is hard reading, but quite detailed:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3269779/

[KittenKong]

At my age it probably wont be pesticides that kill me.

They will contribute to your aging and death. By how much we will never know.

True, but for the first 20 years of my life I mostly eat things that were home-grown organically, or came from local producers. Then for the next 30+ years I lived mostly in an area where there were weekly smallholders' markets, and most of that produce was grown with limited or no use of chemicals. It's only since I moved here that I have been eating out daily and generally eating things that originate God knows where and/or just come off the supermarket shelf. So the chemicals have probably only had a fairly recent effect on me, and haven't been accumulating for decades.

I would be much more worried for people who are eating mass-farmed produce of unknown origin from birth, which many do these days.

[bartender100]

This was recommended to me by a Thai street vendor and I use it all the time now, I brought from Friendship in Pattaya, potassium permanganate

You have to use a tiny amount and rinse well

http://www.livestrong.com/article/303623-potassium-permanganate-to-wash-vegetables/

[pattjock]

If you are worried about pesticides, funghicides other chemichals and bacteria you could get a Samson GWB-300 washer. It's a bit expensive at about US$300 but probably worth it if it works as advertised. It's using ultrasound, ozon and nano silver to clean vegetables and fruit.

"Samson Multipurpose Ultrasonic Washer is the first kitchen appliance ever to use Ultrasonic Wave Technology! Ultrasonic waves eliminate 98.9% or more of pesticides used on apples, such as Parathion and EPN (extremely toxic insecticides), 98.9% or more of Captan, a fungicide, used on grapes and cabbage."

Can be bought in Thailand from:

http://www.goodhealth.co.th/

[tropo]

If you are worried about pesticides, funghicides other chemichals and bacteria you could get a Samson GWB-300 washer. It's a bit expensive at about US$300 but probably worth it if it works as advertised. It's using ultrasound, ozon and nano silver to clean vegetables and fruit.

"Samson Multipurpose Ultrasonic Washer is the first kitchen appliance ever to use Ultrasonic Wave Technology! Ultrasonic waves eliminate 98.9% or more of pesticides used on apples, such as Parathion and EPN (extremely toxic insecticides), 98.9% or more of Captan, a fungicide, used on grapes and cabbage."

Can be bought in Thailand from:

http://www.goodhealth.co.th/

If the vegetables are this toxic perhaps not eating them would be the best health option. I don't know what I can eat these days. I can find scare stories about everything I put in my mouth. Everything is toxic: chicken, beef, pork, eggs, milk...

One thing is sure though, I'll die more quickly if I don't eat.

[raro]

I wish we had a farmer's market here in Pattaya as they have in Bangkok. They screen their vendors rather strict (site visits etc) and it is mostly organic produce you can buy there.

[Pdavies99]

What a question?? You are in Thailand, effectively still a country that is not really advanced!

What answer do you want ? That it comes from China and the label says non GMO? Okay believe the labelling!

[bartender100]

Last time I was in Makro in Pattaya the potato's stacked high in boxes were from Holland, and very tasty

[KittenKong]

I wish we had a farmer's market here in Pattaya as they have in Bangkok. They screen their vendors rather strict (site visits etc) and it is mostly organic produce you can buy there.

Sounds interesting. Where is it?

[susanschwaiger]

What a question?? You are in Thailand, effectively still a country that is not really advanced!

What answer do you want ? That it comes from China and the label says non GMO? Okay believe the labelling!

I don't expect any answer from you. Thank you for your energy !

[WitawatWatawit]

The posting about potassium permanganate was interesting. But I was told many years ago that it was best to soak fresh veg and fruit in water with a dash of vinegar (and then well rinsed, of course). This I do - although a lot of my veg these days is from frozen packs for convenience sake. Anyone got any thoughts on PP versus vinegar?

[craigt3365]

A troll post and associated reply have been removed from view. Apologies to the member with the appropriate reply.

[tropo]

sim

I wish we had a farmer's market here in Pattaya as they have in Bangkok. They screen their vendors rather strict (site visits etc) and it is mostly organic produce you can buy there.

it's a joke right ?

And people who think that cleaning their vegs will clean pesticides also, right ?

A team of KHON TALOK !

Thank you 5555+

What is the point of your post? If you wish to make an informed comment, then please, give us the full power of your mighty intellect.

It wasn't the best of deliveries, but he has a good point. Why would washing the outside of fruit and vegetables make much difference? The pesticides are used early on in the growth of plants, so most of the toxins would be contained within the plant cells, not on the surface.

There seems to be lot of companies selling expensive gadgets to wash produce to allay people's fear but we don't see any scientific evidence of the benefits. It's not only the expense of buying the gadgets one must consider, but also the inconvenience of using them.

Right now I'll just bury my head in the sand. If I don't see it, I'll pretend it doesn't exist. I'll rinse it with "clean" water and stick it in my mouth. ... or cook the hell out of it first, in which case most of the nutrients have been destroyed and hopefully some of the toxins have leached out into the water.

A person who worries about too many things everyday will probably lose as many years as they may gain by not consuming toxins and certainly live a more stressful life.

Edited July 16, 2014 by tropo

[craigt3365]

For sure washing won't get rid of all pesticides and chemicals. I'll try to find the report, but here in Thailand, at the fresh market, they are using a spray to keep the veggies fresh and looking good.

The suggestion was to rinse them thoroughly before eating to remove this chemical, which might have been just sprayed on. Hard to say, but it sure won't hurt, and takes off all the dirt and other BS. You should see the bottom of the sink after washing a big load of green, leafy veggies. Lots of dirt.

P.S. we use bottled water for soaking. And cooking. Especially after brown stuff was coming out of our taps for 2 days recently....ugh....

[raro]

Check it out here

Www.bkkfm.com

The dates and locations are listed in there.

There is an event in the making at the regent school in October. It's not yet official, but watch this space. If it is going to happen, some of the farmers market vendors will be there.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[WitawatWatawit]

Raro, that website doesnt give info about when and where (unless I missed something). But according to my daughter, the market is held on the last Saturday of every month in Sukhumvit Soi 26. (I think that's right.)

Sure would be cool to see such markets proliferate in other places - we could do with one in Pattaya.

[susanschwaiger]

Last time in Makro Pattaya North Road, I saw the carrots packed in small plastic bags with a stick "Carrot Import Chinese". As I did not see the big paper carton, it's hard to get more info. But I know in China, carrot is one of the GMO products. The stupid CN government has already allowed many GMO seeds into China market, although many people are against it.

I know Thailand imports quite a lot stuff from China. That is really tough for shopping

[pattjock]

sim

I wish we had a farmer's market here in Pattaya as they have in Bangkok. They screen their vendors rather strict (site visits etc) and it is mostly organic produce you can buy there.

it's a joke right ?

And people who think that cleaning their vegs will clean pesticides also, right ?

A team of KHON TALOK !

Thank you 5555+

What is the point of your post? If you wish to make an informed comment, then please, give us the full power of your mighty intellect.

It wasn't the best of deliveries, but he has a good point. Why would washing the outside of fruit and vegetables make much difference? The pesticides are used early on in the growth of plants, so most of the toxins would be contained within the plant cells, not on the surface.

There seems to be lot of companies selling expensive gadgets to wash produce to allay people's fear but we don't see any scientific evidence of the benefits. It's not only the expense of buying the gadgets one must consider, but also the inconvenience of using them.

Right now I'll just bury my head in the sand. If I don't see it, I'll pretend it doesn't exist. I'll rinse it with "clean" water and stick it in my mouth. ... or cook the hell out of it first, in which case most of the nutrients have been destroyed and hopefully some of the toxins have leached out into the water.

A person who worries about too many things everyday will probably lose as many years as they may gain by not consuming toxins and certainly live a more stressful life.

If you look at the research you will find that most of the pesticides are outside the vegetable and most of it can be washed off.

The mechanical action of rubbing vegetables under tap water is the main action responsible for removing pesticides. As the mechanical action is important I would think that ultrasound would be an ideal way of removing pesticides, as is used in some house hold gadgets. Vegetable detergents, baking soda, vinegre and other means have less of an effect on most pesticides but will help to remove bacteria and fungus.

One study on the subject:

http://www.ct.gov/caes/cwp/view.asp?a=2815&q=376676

[JSixpack]

This was recommended to me by a Thai street vendor and I use it all the time now, I brought from Friendship in Pattaya, potassium permanganate

You have to use a tiny amount and rinse well

http://www.livestrong.com/article/303623-potassium-permanganate-to-wash-vegetables/

Might try this. I currently use a vinegar solution as a veggie wash. Where in Friendship can one find the potassium permanganate?

Edited July 16, 2014 by JSixpack

[WitawatWatawit]

pattjock:

That website contains one very telling comment:

Residues of DDE, a metabolite of DDT, were also studied. Although many persistent organohalogen pesticides (POPs), such as DDT, were banned for use on food crops between 1972 and 1978 in the United States, they have remained in the environment where they continue to be incorporated into plant biomass (1).

Susan, it's more than likely that if GMO vegies have found their way to Makro, then other big retailers will have them, too. I do buy small amounts of veg from the local wet market as I know the sellers buy from local distributors. But there are no guarantees about anything - those vegies could also be GMO. Devil and the deep blue sea comes to mind.

[pattjock]

There will always be some contaminants inside the vegetables and there is always the risk of GMO. Unfortunately there is not much you can do about this except for buying certified organic produce, and hope that it really is organic.

[bartender100]

This was recommended to me by a Thai street vendor and I use it all the time now, I brought from Friendship in Pattaya, potassium permanganate

You have to use a tiny amount and rinse well

http://www.livestrong.com/article/303623-potassium-permanganate-to-wash-vegetables/

Might try this. I currently use a vinegar solution as a veggie wash. Where in Friendship can one find the potassium permanganate?

From memory its on a low shelf in the baking soda area, bit hard to find B6

[KittenKong]

Buying from the Royal Projects shop in Central might be an option. Most of the fresh food is labelled organic and there is a definite measure of traceability and provenance. I suspect that whoever runs that scheme has more integrity than many produce exporters/importers have.

[Pdavies99]

What a question?? You are in Thailand, effectively still a country that is not really advanced!

What answer do you want ? That it comes from China and the label says non GMO? Okay believe the labelling!

I don't expect any answer from you. Thank you for your energy !