Thai Restaurant Association: Cleaner street food needed to draw tourists

[Don Aleman]

Well of course the Thai Restaurant Ass. would think street food is unsanitary as it keeps people out of their restaurants ! It wouldn't hurt to see plastic gloves and hair covers on food handling people but most are pretty careful what they touch and serve.

[Bigfarang1948]

Thai Restaurant Association? Sounds like competitors trying to stir up problems by making street food more expensive or less available to get rid of their low cost competitors.

Here is a Heads' Up for the Thai Restaurant Industry. The tourists aren't coming her to eat your daily sidewalk road kill. Be realistic for once. If you think the sidewalk food is cusing a lack of tourism I disagree. Most of the tourists, in my opinion, are looking for new young but legal bar girls and a decent price for a cold beer and a Soapy.

[Eli1]

I have never eaten of one of those carts and never will its just the environment is just filthy and I don't think they wash there hands when they prepare your food guaranteed yuck filthy environment it's about time they homed in on them.

[toooa]

What a load of nonsense. Wanna draw more tourists, lighten up on the visas. The idea that people come here en masse just so they can savour Thai street food is laughable. As for the cancer, here's a few possible reasons that may have something to do with it.... GMO's, MSG and God knows what else, Environmental Pollutants, Heavy Metals (esp. Metallica), Excessive use of pesticides, Asbestos, Hi fat and Fried Food, Higher consumption of animal products, esp Western style "Standard American Diet" aka SAD food, Lao Khao, Beer Chang, Tobacco, Microwave Cooking, TESCO lotus, 7, 1000 mile sausage, Vaccines....

I'm not saying that any on this quickly brainstormed list definitely cause cancer but cancer is methinks, often a result of cumulative abuse to which the body gets tired of fighting. A combination of some or all of the above may provide the conditions for cancer.

Has this clown noticed that this epidemic of cancer is not just confined to parts of the world where you can get a Pad Thai and Banana Roti on the street?

Just another tosser in a position of some authority who hasn't got a clue about reality.

I love it when people think that more "standards" and coercion are the answer to all life's problems. Leave the street sellers alone. If you don't like their food, then don't eat it. That's not too hard.

[WhizBang]

<snip>

I've consumed street food en mass for over 20 years and never had a problem. Not one time.

I have consumed my fair share of street food, and yes, there have been a few times when I needed to remain close to the porcelain goddess. Of course, the same has happened a few times from eating at the better restaurants too.

Personally, I think everyone needs to up their game when it comes to food cleanliness and safety.

One of my pet peeves, especially with the street vendors, is the oil they use for cooking. It always looks old and very well used (overused?). And certainly some of the hygiene I have witnessed from some street vendors just makes me shudder.

[tigermonkey]

"She believes more Thais are suffering from cancer due to their consumption of unhygienic food, pointing to research by Mahidol University about the prevalence of certain cancers among Thais in 2011."

Yes, it's so important to avoid all those deadly carcinogenic bacteria. I wonder if she, in her wisdom, would care to name even one carcinogenic agent that is found in "unhygienic food".

[Number 3]

Clean the streets then the street FOOD.....

[BSJ]

Clean the streets then the street FOOD.....

You beat me to it!

The place always looks shabby (not just Bangkok) and dirty. Building's more than a few years old with black mould all over the exterior. Broken sidewalks...if you can call them that! It's not a good look for anyone that bothers to get out of the tourist zone, and some of that is not to good either!

[Grindting]

I have never eaten of one of those carts and never will its just the environment is just filthy and I don't think they wash there hands when they prepare your food guaranteed yuck filthy environment it's about time they homed in on them.

Problem is that they wash their arse with their hands after taking a shit. So if they don't wash their hands properly with disinfectant after this (like most Thais/Asians wouldn't) then you are certainly more susceptible to getting the trots or worse, amoebic dysentery is a nasty one, and typhoid.

[inutil]

Love Thai street food. Im also a terribly fussy eater and have a bit of a germ-phobia (i cant drink out of the same glass, or eat off the same plate as someone else). Yeah, it can be grim. Ive had some real vomit inducing food out there. But it wasnt so much the cleanliness as the awful recipe. And when it rocks, youve just scored a ridiculously tasty meal for a 100th of the price youd pay back home. Whats not to love?

On the other hand, i currently live in China, and dont even dare eat in the restaurants. ive been sick several times (and once, so bad i was hospitalised). I kinda wondered why, until a friend pointed out the hogwash oil thing. Fancy eating food cooked in oil thats been recovered from sewers and filtered (with no legitimate or legal oversight)? Me neither. Chinese food can be yum now and again for sure, but ive rolled the dice enough times now to give up playing.

[Pinothippy]

The only time i have had a problem with food in Thailand it was from oysters in a restaurant. Never been ill from street food and its what i mainly eat when in Thailand. I think it is one of the great things about Thailand.

[dowhatuwill]

Funny article. Didn't know there was a Thai Restaurant Association..., I bit of an oxymoron in this country. Have her call me..., I know how to solve this problem. Easy.

These are comments by someone trying to keep up membership with their clients (some about to cancel) saying "We can't get people through our doors but the street vendors outside with tin tables & plastic stools are packed - it's not fair". Darling it's about price, price-value, and the reality of a city filled with food options. Leave the street and there exists a large % of family restaurants..., reasonably priced, excellent food fare, serving downstairs and living upstairs. I love that about this part of the world.

I've consumed street food en mass for over 20 years and never had a problem. Not one time.

Been here for 4 years. I have been sick 48 times. Yep once a month I get belted. Not just from street food but also from "good expensive" restaraunts .

I eat Street food daily and restaurant food fairly often for many years. I never get sick. Why not? I don't eat the meat.

Your chances of getting food poisoning from vegetables and noodles are very ,very low compared with people who eat meat from vendors and even "good".restaurants.99% of people will ignore this but if you can't afford to get sick, or just don't want to, this is the best advice you will ever hear.

If you must eat meat, prepare it yourself and know where it came from.

[kanook]

I am a chef and restaurateur and frankly I am shocked, but not surprised, at the food handling and sanitation practices in this country. Don't think I'm immune though; despite my best efforts, contracted my first case of food poisoning last year. My gf (food sciences degree) and I decided to carry out a test of 6 brands of Thai bottled water. Every one had E. coli bacteria present.

[Grindting]

The first night I arrived in Thailand I ate som tam from a street food vendor near nana. That night a cold/chest infection developed (caught on the flight) and the following morning I was sick as a dog from that in combination with severe dirreaeh from the som tam. I went to the pharmacist the next day and tried to get some Imodium (at that time I didn't know Imodium as i had never had the shits so bad before) and ended up getting a laxative (true story) due to a miscommunication. I was on the toilet for 48hrs with some very violent projections.

So I only blame the Thais 66.6% for that (the som tam vendor, thai airways for letting the sick cvnt on the plane) the miscommunication I can only be at fault. Unless the thai was having a laugh with me..

The next time I got sick was in phiphi island, the biggest shithole in LOS. Was from a bowl of mussels that wiped me out for 4 days and my group of friends who I met in Malaysia went on without me as I rode it out in a luxury hotel.

Not had a problem on the whole with the food in LOS in comparison to my 3 years in Indonesia. If you wanna get food poisoning, you can't eat anywhere other than the ritz to be completely risk free. No one can live like that, so I ended up with every food related illness under the sun in my 3 years, from typhoid to amoebic dysentery, all different kinds of ecoli and salmonella. And I was a very careful boy

[Local Drunk]

Where do street vendors wash there hands after a big poo?

I've seen many a Thai man rinse their hands before they pee, but not afterwards.

Edited August 29, 2014 by Local Drunk

[longtom]

In Europe, extremely strict hygiene rules about´street´ food and restaurant food. Still many cases of salmonella etc,, sometimes killing (or almost killing) lots of people.

10 years in Thailand eating lots of street food from vendors following not even the most basic hygiene rules. Never a problem although I have a very sensitive stomach.

Still a big enigma for me, just don´t get it.

[Emster23]

Been living in Thailand for 13 years. I pay attention to the vendor (look healthy or not), but I am much more apprehensive going to a restaurant where I can't see the cook and kitchen. Most of the food I get is street food, or a place where the cook is out front. KFC gives me the trots. I do not remember the last time I got sick from eating food from stall. How about cleaning up the streets first? Oh, they aren't taking away customers from restaurant association. A bit of bias there?

[rainman333]

it could be worse, in china, some street vendors use use "gutter oil" to cook with, which is basicaly oil made from the gutter

and a little off toipic but i was in central festival bottom floor, was going to buy some chicken kabobs from one of the stalls until i saw the food preparer sneeze all over them and carried on like nothing happened...

Edited August 29, 2014 by rainman333

[Local Drunk]

In Europe, extremely strict hygiene rules about´street´ food and restaurant food. Still many cases of salmonella etc,, sometimes killing (or almost killing) lots of people.

10 years in Thailand eating lots of street food from vendors following not even the most basic hygiene rules. Never a problem although I have a very sensitive stomach.

Still a big enigma for me, just don´t get it.

Sorry but I think that you're not telling the truth here.

[jackh]

This is so funny. Street food is what it is. Thai people are very clean by nature, so I am confident so are the food venders for the most part. Been eating street food there over 20 years and I have yet to even get a bout of food poisoning.

How about educating Thais to change their attitudes towards tourists if they want to increase business. Especially down Phewket ? way. Ripping off and scamming tourists is now widely known throughout the travel community and tourists are spending their $$ in better places.

[manhood]

Street food was common in Singapore years ago: for health reason the street vendors had to close down and they opend all these many food stalls , covered with roof, seating areas and the vendors can cook at clean places and all can be controlled!

The food stalls are mostly close to houseing areas or close to places many people working and living!

Thats the way to solve many of the problems of the food vendors everythere here in Thailand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[connda]

Thai Restaurant Association? Sounds like competitors trying to stir up problems by making street food more expensive or less available to get rid of their low cost competitors.

Sounds like the TRA is trying to limit their competition by using 'scare tactics' to drive consumers (especially tourists) away. If you live here, scare tactics shouldn't work as you already know the quality of the food at whatever street vendor you frequent.

Caveat: I've never been made sick by any food I've eaten at a street vendor. I've gotten food poisoning twice after eating at two well known restaurants here in Thailand.

However, most TV member will probably jump on board. Farangs and their obsession with hygiene - sterilize everything!!! Then they wonder why they get the trots as soon as they leave the sterilized boarders of their home countries. Keep your kids away from as much bacteria as possible their whole lives, and then they have no immunity to bacteria that is present in most of third and developing world countries. And farangs are uncomfortable if they don't have lots and lots and lots of regulations. Gotta regulate everything. Next thing you know, a kid can't sell a glass of lemon-aide from a road side stand.

Personally, I left that world behind and I'm in no hurry to see it develop in this wonderful country I choose to live in. Just saying. If you like that -- move to Singapore. I don't want to see Thailand turned into America or England.

Edited August 29, 2014 by connda

[longtom]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

In Europe, extremely strict hygiene rules about´street´ food and restaurant food. Still many cases of salmonella etc,, sometimes killing (or almost killing) lots of people.

10 years in Thailand eating lots of street food from vendors following not even the most basic hygiene rules. Never a problem although I have a very sensitive stomach.

Still a big enigma for me, just don´t get it. alt=blink.png>

Sorry but I think that you're not telling the truth here.

Really not sure what you´re insinuating here, I am honestly very confused/wondering about this fact . No agenda at all.

[Grindting]

Where do street vendors wash there hands after a big poo?

I've seen many a Thai man rinse their hands before they pee, but not afterwards.

That is a very Muslim thing to do (wash before)

I don't know how Muslim it is to not bother after. So dirty

[connda]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

In Europe, extremely strict hygiene rules about´street´ food and restaurant food. Still many cases of salmonella etc,, sometimes killing (or almost killing) lots of people.

10 years in Thailand eating lots of street food from vendors following not even the most basic hygiene rules. Never a problem although I have a very sensitive stomach.

Still a big enigma for me, just don´t get it. alt=blink.png>

Sorry but I think that you're not telling the truth here.

Really not sure what you´re insinuating here, I am honestly very confused/wondering about this fact . No agenda at all.

I'm on board with longtom and I have the same experiences. What are you trying to really say there Mr. Drunk?

[Grindting]

it could be worse, in china, some street vendors use use "gutter oil" to cook with, which is basicaly oil made from the gutter ..

Please elaborate what you're talking about, oil made from the gutter?

[Number 3]

it could be worse, in china, some street vendors use use "gutter oil" to cook with, which is basicaly oil made from the gutter ..

Please elaborate what you're talking about, oil made from the gutter?

Clearly we make have the ability to make oil from the gutter

Fabulous stuff ! Argh!!!!

[belg]

fresh cooked food, laying there hours in the sun, without cooling, baked for hours in that nice unknown charchoaled material or whatever they found in the streets/rubbish that day

fresh cut fruit, then you see the dirty bucket under where they clean the knife in that cuts the fruit

nice fried food (kill bacteria) when you see the oil is as dark as the never washed pan

nice clean dishes used over and over again, cleansed with a dirty towel

street food, no thank you

[Grindting]

it could be worse, in china, some street vendors use use "gutter oil" to cook with, which is basicaly oil made from the gutter ..

Please elaborate what you're talking about, oil made from the gutter?

Clearly we make have the ability to make oil from the gutter

Fabulous stuff ! Argh!!!!

"Clearly we make have"

What's your problem?

[DrTuner]

Never had any troubles from street food. The times I've had the runs in the last seven years can be counted with one hand and all from farang restaurants.

Edited August 29, 2014 by DrTuner