Fake Thai fish sauce reportedly saturating the market

[webfact]

Fake fish sauce reportedly saturating the market

BANGKOK, 17 November 2014 (NNT) - According to the Intellectual Property Department, there have been several counterfeit consumer goods such as shampoo, soap, and powdered detergents circulating in the market recently.

The department disclosed, however, that the most common fake item sold across the market these days is the fish sauce or commonly known in Thai as “Nam-Pla”.

Vendors involved in the scam would first purchase an empty bottle and then fill it up with artificial fish sauce. Afterwards, they would then put the real logo of an actual fish sauce manufacturing company to make it credible and offer a special discounted price to the customer.

From the naked eye, it is very difficult to detect the real fish sauce from the fake one, the department said. Nonetheless, they have cautioned members of the public to refrain from buying fish sauces that sell at unbelievably cheap prices, as they are most likely a counterfeit product.


-- NNT 2014-11-17

[The stuttering parrot]

This whole article seems a bit fishy!

[Costas2008]

So the Intellectual Property Department, has been involved into that and not the police.

Have to admit Nam Pla is an intellectual property.

Are we for real here or they come up with whatever they like?

[slapout]

Been doing the same with honey, fresh milk, powered milk, fruit juice, etc for years here. Some people just cannot seem to be satisfied unless they are screwing someone else and getting a extra baht or 10.

[useronthenet]

Funny, when Thailand copies stuff which belongs to other countries it's no big deal. The moment it's from Thailand that's a another matter. Double standards perhaps ?

[marsstar14]

So the Intellectual Property Department, has been involved into that and not the police.

Have to admit Nam Pla is an intellectual property.

Are we for real here or they come up with whatever they like?

While Nam Pla itself is not an intellectual property, the scam itself involves the vendors 'copying' the logos of the actual fish sauce production companies to fool the customers. FYI, that it why the Intellectual Property Department has to get involved because it is a form of copyright infringement.

[uptheos]

I wonder how they recreate that dirty underwear smell?

[Thai at Heart]

artificial fish sauce.

What the hell does this mean? What is it made of ? Fake fish?

Fish sauce is cheap as chips anyway, so what can they make it out of that is cheaper.?

[ATF]

Artificial fish sauce is made out of what? Remember the artificial eggs made from gypsum and chemicals?

[kalbo123]

Some Thai fish sause is cheaper then water why bother making fake??

[impulse]

I wonder how they recreate that dirty underwear smell?

What do you mean REcreate?

That IS their formula.

I just wonder where they get that many pairs... Maybe they have finally solved one of life's quintessential mysteries.:

Edited November 17, 2014 by impulse

[Johnnie99]

To quote countless others:

"You just couldn't make it up!"

[Johnnie99]

Funny, when Thailand copies stuff which belongs to other countries it's no big deal. The moment it's from Thailand that's a another matter. Double standards perhaps ?

Thais hate 'karma'.

[nisakiman]

Fake fish sauce reportedly saturating the market

Just about every fish market I've been to in Thailand has been saturated in 'fish sauce'. Soaks into your flip-flops and stinks for days...

[bangon04]

Funny, when Thailand copies stuff which belongs to other countries it's no big deal. The moment it's from Thailand that's a another matter. Double standards perhaps ?

Yes - it is highly unusual to see a bootleg copy of the latest Thai band hit album or ghost story of the week DVD on the market stalls. Probably dangerous for the vendors.

However it is normal to see the not yet released in Thailand Hollywood DVDs

Edited November 17, 2014 by bangon04

[shaurene]

Has it been tested by a lab to see if it is dangerous to use.

[casual inquiry]

Artificial fish sauce is made out of what? Remember the artificial eggs made from gypsum and chemicals?

any more info on this?

i have come across boiled eggs which i considered to be fake. thats a perfect outer shell looking as best i could determine to be the genuine real thing, so was hesitant to call them fakes, but on the inside the difference is clearer, the eggs have a two tone same as real eggs but the yolk is not in a circle-oval but in a layer as though it has broken and sunk to the bottom. and then the taste is foul not fowl as you would expect. chemical foul. couldnt see how it would be worth their effort to fake eggs because they were being sold for even less than the real thing. must be a high production factory that is doing the faking.

result is i stopped buying any eggs that werent in a major retail chain, perhaps thats their motive?

next question would be who has the resources and motivation to do that? but TIT, so i wont ask it.

Edited November 17, 2014 by casual inquiry

[noahvail]

Has it been tested by a lab to see if it is dangerous to use.

No testing on animals, please. ?

[noahvail]

Artificial fish sauce is made out of what? Remember the artificial eggs made from gypsum and chemicals?

any more info on this?

i have come across boiled eggs which i considered to be fake. thats a perfect outer shell looking as best i could determine to be the genuine real thing, so was hesitant to call them fakes, but on the inside the difference is clearer, the eggs have a two tone same as real eggs but the yolk is not in a circle-oval but in a layer as though it has broken and sunk to the bottom. and then the taste is foul not fowl as you would expect. chemical foul. couldnt see how it would be worth their effort to fake eggs because they were being sold for even less than the real thing. must be a high production factory that is doing the faking.

result is i stopped buying any eggs that werent in a major retail chain, perhaps thats their motive?

next question would be who has the resources and motivation to do that? but TIT, so i wont ask it.

You've perfectly described the artificial eggs made in China. The factories were supposedly closed down a few months ago, but may well have started up again. The first clue is that the shells are just too perfect. And then it gets worse.

Reminds me of my younger days when fishmongers would sell scallops that were are perfect tubes of the same size. Turns out they were shark meat, which you could buy for a whole lot less then the artificial scallops. So we started buying shark steaks instead...hey, that was 50 years ago.

[impulse]

Artificial fish sauce is made out of what? Remember the artificial eggs made from gypsum and chemicals?

any more info on this?

i have come across boiled eggs which i considered to be fake. thats a perfect outer shell looking as best i could determine to be the genuine real thing, so was hesitant to call them fakes, but on the inside the difference is clearer, the eggs have a two tone same as real eggs but the yolk is not in a circle-oval but in a layer as though it has broken and sunk to the bottom. and then the taste is foul not fowl as you would expect. chemical foul. couldnt see how it would be worth their effort to fake eggs because they were being sold for even less than the real thing. must be a high production factory that is doing the faking.

result is i stopped buying any eggs that werent in a major retail chain, perhaps thats their motive?

next question would be who has the resources and motivation to do that? but TIT, so i wont ask it.

Story originally comes out of China. I never figured out how they made money on it, but it's apparently true. I haven't heard any stories from Thailand, but...

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/11/06/how-to-make-a-rotten-egg/

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/09/25/Telling-the-real-egg-from-the-fake/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Discott/fake_chicken_eggs

[casual inquiry]

this was in thailand, a year ago at least that i encountered these eggs so not recent.

thanks for the more info and links

Edited November 17, 2014 by casual inquiry

[Sviss Geez]

Funny, when Thailand copies stuff which belongs to other countries it's no big deal. The moment it's from Thailand that's a another matter. Double standards perhaps ?

"...when Thailand copies stuff which belongs to other countries..."

No double standards at all. Thailand as a country doesn't infringe other countries' intellectual property rights, a very small number of individuals do though.

[Sviss Geez]

artificial fish sauce.

What the hell does this mean? What is it made of ? Fake fish?

Fish sauce is cheap as chips anyway, so what can they make it out of that is cheaper.?

Coloured water.

[Sviss Geez]

Some Thai fish sause is cheaper then water why bother making fake??

So the scammers can make money, obviously.

[lungmi]

The cheap fish sauces see only a fish, when the aquarium of the factory is in the production place.

[MexicanFarang]

As a chef, the only crime I see in this story is calling the watery concoction known as 'naam plaa' a 'sauce'.

A sauce should have a thick consistency, not watery. Call it liquid or even a condiment, but don't call a watery Thai condiment a "sauce"....

[noitom]

Fake Thai fish sauce. What brilliance! Who would think twice that fish sauce was counterfeit?

[NamKAheng]

As a chef, the only crime I see in this story is calling the watery concoction known as 'naam plaa' a 'sauce'.

A sauce should have a thick consistency, not watery. Call it liquid or even a condiment, but don't call a watery Thai condiment a "sauce"....

Totally false:

In cooking, a sauce is liquid, cream or semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. So naam plaa is a sauce like soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce ....

[Local Drunk]

As a chef, the only crime I see in this story is calling the watery concoction known as 'naam plaa' a 'sauce'.

A sauce should have a thick consistency, not watery. Call it liquid or even a condiment, but don't call a watery Thai condiment a "sauce"....

I agree. It isn't a sauce in western terminology, but this isn't the west. Thai's can be as ambiguous in their language as we are in ours.

[beammeup]

Breaking news, the authorities have captured the fake fish sauce producers, when ask why they did it they replied "just for the halibut".