Pesticide free vegetables.

[CMKiwi]

Troll.... go and hug a tree. You might even hear back something that makes you happy.

[junglechef]

http://www.rimping.com/product_safety_testing

It's good that this grocery store chain is running their own monitoring/testing program.

It's also very unfortunate that they have to, because the government's own monitoring and enforcement efforts are totally worthless and recognized by their customers as such.

The point is, companies like Rimping should not have to be doing their own food safety testing if the government was doing its job.

Hmmm ....

A quote from the link:

"Rimping also checks the hygiene standards of employees involved in food processing, the cleanliness of equipment used, and for evidence of surface human contact. (Swab Test) Items that fail these tests are rejected. Customers can therefore be confident and assured that Rimping products are clean, fresh and safe to eat."

A test I conduct, though not technical but probably scientifically accurate, is simple observation.

Go to the butcher counter and look at scale for dried blood, bit of old meat etc.

Since they put the meat your potentially going to purchase directly on it for pricing to me that's all the data I need to determine the "products are clean, fresh and safe to eat"

[daoyai]

Troll.... go and hug a tree. You might even hear back something that makes you happy.

[/quote

Glad you labeled your (troll) post for what it is... by the way, we owe our existence to trees and plants but hey, that is science...hug a tree by all means.

amusing the posts claiming everything is fine in the food here, especially like the "i am still alive and old so there must not be a problem" argument.

then the guy that asks "if the food is contaminated, why do Thais live an average life expectancy?" (paraphrasing) the answer to that is less infant mortality due to better medical care brought the averages up.

Agricultural education, stricter controls for pesticides, a growing "organic" movement and an acceptance of some bug holes in your veggies will hopefully someday happen.

Edited May 7, 2016 by daoyai

[Windhorse]

Name this "wide range of unpleasant and fatal diseases" which are DIRECTLY the result of consuming "contaminated" fruit/veg.

Explain why Thai people live so long, if as you claim, they are eating "toxic" food.

http://www.worldlife...life-expectancy

http://www.worldlife...rofile/thailand

Would like to update your knowledge?have look at the bottom of the article

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/962645/toxic-kitchen-of-the-world

[HaleySabai]

I've always wondered why vegetables here don't have but a day or two shelf-life. Carrots left unrefrigerated get soft in no time. Put them in the refrigerator, and they wilt and start turning black in a couple days. At least that's the case with carrots from the market. Organic, New Zealand carrots from Rim Ping last much longer.

Then, too, when I slice carrots on my white cutting board, the board picks up an orange color. There's got to be some kind of color added to the carrots grown here. Imported carrots don't change the color of the board.

Who knows what we're eating? But I do know that I've become more selective in what and where I eat. Usually home is best.

Oh, and always wash your fruits and vegetables before eating. When out and about I've often seen fruit pickers washing the fruit with canal water prior to packing before going to the market. Kids swim in those canals, and certainly ingest a good deal of that dirty water, but as for me, I'd rather not.

If the carrots you purchase are large and uniform in size they are most likely from China. Carrots from Royal Project are grown locally and are a different variety,very hard and somewhat bitter. I would purchase these over the Chinese carrots. If you are juicing fruits or veggies it is good to know that pesticides separate in the pulp,like oil and water. Double strain the juice and compost the pulp.

I avoid anything from China,but unfortunately Thailand is far from the 'organic' wonderland we would like to believe (or led to believe) it to be.

My wife has a theory that the reason for biological mutations in the Thai-population(feminization of the male for example) is due in part to the accumulation of chemicals in the food chain and hormones in the meat..... I'd just say it's too much "Mamma"....and I don't mean 'mamma noodles'!

[streetsweeper]

Buy the veggies with the most insect nibbles on the leaves.

Sign of least or nil contamination by pesticides?

If this theory is not correct then the bugs are way ahead in the game of pesticide resistance!

[HaleySabai]

Chatting with a friend who frequents the 'Vegetarian Society' on Mahidol road (left side if driving from Airport Plaza). He claims that the Society has strict organic standards based on Buddhist principals and source only from like minded local producers. By keeping their operation on a small scale it is possible that high standards can be observed.

Possibly the cheapest place in town to fill your belly and wash it all down with equally inexpensive veggie juices. They do sell the ready made juices, not sure if produce is made available to.

Just ask them for the relative information....they are extremely nice and helpful people working there.

[Gordon]

Sad reading indeed that the department of agricultures own laboratory come up with very different test results than what produced by the UK lab....Rimping super market might test their produce, but they have various grades of certification . They have 5 categories: Organic, pesticide safe, pesticide residue safe, hydroponics and GENERAL. I assume that the GENERAL category means that there can still be chemical residues on the the surface, otherwise why have the pesticide safe and pesticide residue safe categories?

We are using a household ozone generator attached to an airhose that injects ozone into a water bassin where we soak the vegetables and fruits 30-40 minutes before consuming. We use the ozone generator N1668 from www.thailandjuicer.com which is a small machine with an ozone generator and an airpump that pumps the ozone rich air into the water by using an airstone similar to what is used in a fish tank.

Hard to see if it works or not, but various test reports from different sources shows that ozone in water are able to remove anywhere from 50-96% of farm chemical residues on fruits and vegetables. Our machine produce a strong ozone smell so assume it works well....

Edited May 8, 2016 by Gordon

[brommers]

So here we have someone trying to avoid pesticides by using a known toxic element that has clear links to damage to lungs and airways. Just check what the US EPA has to say about ozone!

[junglechef]

So here we have someone trying to avoid pesticides by using a known toxic element that has clear links to damage to lungs and airways. Just check what the US EPA has to say about ozone!

"If the thunder don't get ya then the lightening will"

Must be a few other old Deadheads around still

[Gordon]

So here we have someone trying to avoid pesticides by using a known toxic element that has clear links to damage to lungs and airways. Just check what the US EPA has to say about ozone!

There are many small ozone machines made specifically for house hold use. They don't produce a lot of ozone but enough to ozonate a few litres of water. According to various research papers, ozone is safe to use on fruit and vegetables. Some big vegetable and fruit distributors use ozone soaking to prolong the shelf life of their produce by removing yeast and bacterias that cause rot before distributing to retailers. Another benefit of the ozone. It kills virus and parasites on the produce as well. So no upset stomach/flu from microorganisms after ozone treatment.

Thailand have certain water borne parasites that can be transferred to certain water grown vegetables such as water spinach (Pak boong), penny worth and water mimosa. Ozone also kills those.

Ofcourse we use common sense and don't fill the room with ozone gas .... can keep a window open or do it on the balcony. The smell of ozone is quite strong, so it is easy to know if the concentration in the room is high or not

http://www.delozonefoodsafety.com/commodities/produce.php

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222558570_Removal_of_residual_pesticides_on_vegetable_using_ozonated_water

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21168959

Edited May 8, 2016 by Gordon

[BradinAsia]

We live on an organic farm in Ban Thi close to San Kamphaeng. Wife sells organic vegs to stall in Meechok market. Friends and neighbors come directly to our farm to pick up our vegs. We are not certified but everyone is free to visit us to see what we do.

So if you want fresh chemical free vegs PM me for directions.

Cheers

R'tje

PS: Google Participatory Guarantee Systems, which makes more sense than any label/certification

Rsteeltje, I'm interested in your organic vegetables, but rather clueless here. Can't find any way to PM you. Can you give me a hint?

Edited June 14, 2016 by BradinAsia

[Familyonthemove]

Unfortunately there are many different standards for 'organic' or 'pesticide free' and some are regulated better than others.

There's also not a universal list of approved and banned pesticides as it's based on local requirements - and Thailand still allows some pesticides that are banned in other countries.

If you can't buy from a known source, then export quality can be better (if they export to EU, US). I rely more on washing as I'm too old for it to matter, but I'm glad my daughter is back in UK.

[Rsteeltje]

We live on an organic farm in Ban Thi close to San Kamphaeng. Wife sells organic vegs to stall in Meechok market. Friends and neighbors come directly to our farm to pick up our vegs. We are not certified but everyone is free to visit us to see what we do.

So if you want fresh chemical free vegs PM me for directions.

Cheers

R'tje

PS: Google Participatory Guarantee Systems, which makes more sense than any label/certification

Rsteeltje, I'm interested in your organic vegetables, but rather clueless here. Can't find any way to PM you. Can you give me a hint?

Hello Brad,

Just PM me via this forum.

Cheers

R'tje

[dcnx]

I've always wondered why vegetables here don't have but a day or two shelf-life. Carrots left unrefrigerated get soft in no time. Put them in the refrigerator, and they wilt and start turning black in a couple days. At least that's the case with carrots from the market. Organic, New Zealand carrots from Rim Ping last much longer.

Then, too, when I slice carrots on my white cutting board, the board picks up an orange color. There's got to be some kind of color added to the carrots grown here. Imported carrots don't change the color of the board.

Who knows what we're eating? But I do know that I've become more selective in what and where I eat. Usually home is best.

Oh, and always wash your fruits and vegetables before eating. When out and about I've often seen fruit pickers washing the fruit with canal water prior to packing before going to the market. Kids swim in those canals, and certainly ingest a good deal of that dirty water, but as for me, I'd rather not.

If the carrots you purchase are large and uniform in size they are most likely from China. Carrots from Royal Project are grown locally and are a different variety,very hard and somewhat bitter. I would purchase these over the Chinese carrots. If you are juicing fruits or veggies it is good to know that pesticides separate in the pulp,like oil and water. Double strain the juice and compost the pulp.

I avoid anything from China,but unfortunately Thailand is far from the 'organic' wonderland we would like to believe (or led to believe) it to be.

My wife has a theory that the reason for biological mutations in the Thai-population(feminization of the male for example) is due in part to the accumulation of chemicals in the food chain and hormones in the meat..... I'd just say it's too much "Mamma"....and I don't mean 'mamma noodles'!

Your wife isn't far off.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is found in most plastics, including the bags and bowls Thais eat everything hot out of. It's actually hard to avoid for any of us.

When ingested, it mimics natural estrogen, the female hormone. This can also cause gender confusion, early puberty, and lots of other things that mess up sexual development.

Asia is the dominant BPA manufacturer in the world. Go figure. And yes, Thailand has production plants. Can't imagine where their waste ends up.

And everyone wonders there are so many gays and ladyboys in Thailand. I'd wager the Thais are getting heavy exposure to the chemicals and have been for some time.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

What would be helpful, was if there was a commercially, broadly available brand or brands of Thai produce that we knew was tested and reliably free of pesticides and residues.

There may be individual farms or localized outlets. But those aren't going to be available to most folks reading here on TV by and large.

Unfortunately, the testing has shown that even the Thai brands that claim to be organic and pesticide and pesticide residue free are anything but. So the local and Thai government-issued certifications appear to mean nothing. And nor does buying from the upper end grocery markets targeted at westerners, as some of those have been shown in past testing to have just as bad of a pesticides problem with their veggies as the Thai street markets.

So, failing all else here, I buy the frozen Waitrose brand veggies imported from the UK by Central/Tops, but they only carry certain varieties.

It's sad that the local food industry here is so untrustworthy and apparently unconcerned with the health of their customers.

BTW, anyone know how the Royal Project fruits and veggies fare in this area?

Edited June 16, 2016 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[dcnx]

What would be helpful, was if there was a commercially, broadly available brand or brands of Thai produce that we knew was tested and reliably free of pesticides and residues.

There may be individual farms or localized outlets. But those aren't going to be available to most folks reading here on TV by and large.

Unfortunately, the testing has shown that even the Thai brands that claim to be organic and pesticide and pesticide residue free are anything but. So the local and Thai government-issued certifications appear to mean nothing. And nor does buying from the upper end grocery markets targeted at westerners, as some of those have been shown in past testing to have just as bad of a pesticides problem with their veggies as the Thai street markets.

So, failing all else here, I buy the frozen Waitrose brand veggies imported from the UK by Central/Tops, but they only carry certain varieties.

It's sad that the local food industry here is so untrustworthy and apparently unconcerned with the health of their customers.

BTW, anyone know how the Royal Project fruits and veggies fare in this area?

After that last damming report, I too have switched to Waitrose organic frozen veggies, at least what is for sale. As you said, not a lot of options.

Before the switch, one thing i would do is look for product at the organic markets that looked normal. Organic produce is generally smaller and not as healthy looking as the chemical veggies. Also looked for holes where bugs have eaten them. From time to time I'd find a worm in the kale or spinach so I felt a little better about it.

It is sad that we can't trust our food source. Tragic really. I'd grow my own if I had the time and room for it.

[dcnx]

To add...

If someone did put a list together of legit food, you would probably end up sued from the bad food suppliers.

The cards are stacked against the people here. You pretty much lose until you run out of money, lose your visa, or die.

[CNXBKKMAN]

First time i read an article about the hazardous chemicals found on and in Thai fruit and veg was in 1993 when I first came to Thailand, Bangkok Post. When tests are done it's normally 30-40% of tested foods are found to be dangerous. Chemicals that are banned in the west. It's no different today. It's one of the risks of living in Thailand you have to accept or remain ignorant of.

Prawns, beef, chicken etc sold locally is generally the stuff that can't be exported because it won't pass the safety standards of the EU or wherever. Packed with chemicals and drugs that it's not wise to consume. 30,40, 50 % of it who knows? Secondhand oil reprocessed, fitered , reused and sold again and again. Hot soy milk sold in plastic bags. Hot fried food in bags and polystyrene...

Make the effort to avoid this stuff or accept it. It won't kill you overnight(unless you are really unlucky!) but 20 or 30 years later..

Edited June 17, 2016 by CNXBKKMAN

[Trujillo]

I may have posted this before, but here goes.

This apple was in my fridge for about a month, and then I didn't want to try eating it, so I put it out on my back fence. The photo was taken on January 21, 2015. At the time of this photo, the apple had been sitting outside for about THREE MONTHS.

I don't know about pesticides, but something's going on here....

[junglechef]

Do you know what country the apple is from?

[CNXBKKMAN]

Three months in the baking heat surely it would shrivel up chemicals or no chemicals?

[junglechef]

Three months in the baking heat surely it would shrivel up chemicals or no chemicals?

Maybe I should have asked what planet it was from then

[streetsweeper]

buy the veg that are bug-holed

bug-holes = no pesticide

[grin]

Or maybe they are burn holes from too much pesticide.