Green group to sue Department of Agriculture for failures in vegetable and fruit safety oversight

[webfact]

Green group to sue Department of Agriculture for failures in vegetable and fruit safety oversight



BANGKOK: -- A green group dedicated to protecting consumers from excessive pesticides in vegetables and fresh fruits has threatened to take the Department of Agriculture to the Central Administrative Court for alleged negligence of oversight duty.

Mr Krisda Boonchai, an expert at Thai-PAN said that the group found excessive pesticide residue in fruits and vegetables certified as safe by the Department of Agriculture but the department accused Thai-PAN of accepting funding from foreign organizations to sabotage the Thai economy.

He said that the group had repeatedly found above-standard pesticide residue in fruits and vegetables certified by the department and its public disclosure of the findings was meant to ensure food safety.

He said the group had wanted authorities concerned to address the problem but, instead, it was condemned by the authorities.

Meanwhile, Ms Kingkorn Narinthornkul na Ayudthaya of the “Eat to Change the World” project said that the objective of the green network was to check that the fruits and vegetables to be eaten by the public are safe and free from dangerous chemicals and accessible to the consumers.

She noted that the Department of Agriculture’s inspection work was flawed and it needs to be fixed. The planned lawsuit to the Central Administrative Court was aimed to effect structural change in governmental agencies to promote transparency and accountability.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/164003

-- Thai PBS 2016-05-20

[noitom]

Roundup?

[Thian]

Good job! If we buy "safe" fruit of vegy it has to be safe.

They better mention which fruit is unsafe so we can avoid it.

Is exportfruit also unsafe? Why nobody tested that?

[lvr181]

".........but the department accused Thai-PAN of accepting funding from foreign organizations to sabotage the Thai economy."

OMG. Never accept responsibility for departmental failure! Always blame someone else with a "lame" excuse. Really, is this the way to treat your own citizens? Some departmental heads need to roll after carefully auditing their bank accounts first.

All power to the green group for uncovering this.

Edited May 20, 2016 by lvr181

[Inn Between]

So it's the foreigners again !!!! Grow up Thailand and accept your problems. Then find the intelligence and courage to face them.

This one really pisses me off. Were talking about assuring the food supply here is safe, and the gov't department supposedly responsible, whose salaries are paid by taxpayers, flips the middle finger at an advocacy agency that's trying to do the right thing.

This is an issue I want to hear addressed by the junta gov't. I think it's much more important than kicking vendors off the beach or opinions of how girls are like candy.

Edited May 20, 2016 by Inn Between

[Thian]

So it's the foreigners again !!!! Grow up Thailand and accept your problems. Then find the intelligence and courage to face them.

This one really pisses me off. Were talking about assuring the food supply here is safe, and the gov't department supposedly responsible, whose salaries are paid by taxpayers, flips the middle finger at an advocacy agency that's trying to do the right thing.

This is an issue I want to hear addressed by the junta gov't. I think it's much more important than kicking vendors off the beach or opinions of how girls are like candy.

Remember what happened with babymilk in China? Even today the Chinese will do everything to get W-european babymilkpowder. They even don't want it from a European new factory which was built in China to produce it for them.

Just wait untill the USA or another nation finds chemicals in Thai fruit,then sure they will address it

Also i see people drying fish right next to main roads in BKK and they sell it. I lived at a mainroad and had to clean the floors almost every day from black dust. I doubt those fish are still clean.

[dcnx]

The crackdown on green groups about to begin.

[lvr181]

So it's the foreigners again !!!! Grow up Thailand and accept your problems. Then find the intelligence and courage to face them.

This one really pisses me off. Were talking about assuring the food supply here is safe, and the gov't department supposedly responsible, whose salaries are paid by taxpayers, flips the middle finger at an advocacy agency that's trying to do the right thing.

This is an issue I want to hear addressed by the junta gov't. I think it's much more important than kicking vendors off the beach or opinions of how girls are like candy.

I agree but responsibility should be a top down approach. And how often do you hear the "authorities" crying foul and that foreigners do not understand. Until the junta leads by example (and that not likely to happen any time soon) non understanding foreigners will always be blamed.

A sad reflection of current culture?

[rubl]

Good job! If we buy "safe" fruit of vegy it has to be safe.

They better mention which fruit is unsafe so we can avoid it.

Is exportfruit also unsafe? Why nobody tested that?

I think most foreign countries already check upon receiving ordered vegetables and fruits. Some even just before it's shipped or flown over.

This info is from the EU

https://www.cbi.eu/market-information/fresh-fruit-vegetables/buyer-requirements/