Street food vendors face new tough regulations

[snoop1130]

Street food vendors face new tough regulations

By Chakkawan Salaytoo
The Nation

 

 

Street food vendors in Bangkok’s Yaowarat (China Town) and Khao San Road areas face strict new regulations to allow them to stay in business.

 

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will require that vendors undergo a two-day hygiene training course where they must pass a test, to present their medical certificates to the BMA Health Office every January and to get approval from respective district offices on their dish-washing practices and trash disposal methods.

 

The city is also considering implementing the strict measures in other areas including Soi Convent, Saphan Leung Interesection on Rama 4 Road and various privately-run overnight food markets, said Wanlop Suwandee, the chief adviser to Bangkok’s governor, on Monday.

 

Wanlop said officials would conduct a poll of tourists’ opinions in the Khao San area. Officials would also check on massage shops that reportedly set up seats on Khao San and Ram Buri footpaths and unauthorised booze-selling shops, he added. 

 

Introducing the regulations, the BMA was setting up a mechanism for communities in the concerned areas to monitor the street hawker issue, he said. 

 

He also warned that street vendors could not just expand their space onto footpaths by hiding behind the word “street food”, as such expansion could lead to be more problems.

 

The internationally recognised areas of Yaowarat and Khao San Road were targeted for cleanliness, safety and order improvement following news that Bangkok City was named the finest street food destination in the world by CNN for the second year earlier this year. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/breakingnews/30315955

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-5-22

[stubuzz]

53 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will require that vendors undergo a two-day hygiene training course where they must pass a test, to present their medical certificates to the BMA Health Office every January and to get approval from respective district offices on their dish-washing practices and trash disposal methods.

I doesn't sound tough.

[bristolgeoff]

to be fair the food is cooked in front of you,also the food is generally brought daily from the markets.in cm  many street vendors sell food and you can see it is cooked and brought daily.the market near chiangmai gate is cleaned every night.it may look dirty  but is very clean.so I would not have a problem buying food there

[Thechook]

Love the prop behind him.  He just needs the angel wings to finnish it off

[colinneil]

you want to stay in business?

Easy answer remember the envelope for me, as i am near retirement, i need my pot topped up.

[jaltsc]

For some reason the authorities think that food served in western like mega franchise establishments is safer than what is served in local stalls. The meat in a hamburger, or that chicken in a box, might have come from an animal raised and slaughtered in South America, or China (well known for its high safety standards...LOL) processed and  handled in three or four other countries by dozens of workers whose sanitary habits are not monitored,  then treated with formaldehyde and other chemicals to make the brown meat look fresh, and finally served to the customer a few months later.

 

How is this safer than an animal slaughtered that morning, processed and cooked in front of you that very same day? Plus, if people get sick from food at a particular stall, word gets around and that vendor is out of business in that location.

 

[doremifasol]

New tough regulations......dish-washing practices and trash disposal methods.

Wow.....so tough...we can all sleep better now

 

Booooo to the classic clowns. 

[Dobredin Ghusputin]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

their dish-washing practices and trash disposal methods

 

Could there be anything more eco-friendly than the soidog method? Lick all the dishes clean, and tear into the garbage bag buffet after closing time.

[Nowisee]

Confused why the talk about street hawkers, massage shops and booze sellers.  Thought this was about street food.

 

The hygiene training course is a good thought/first step.  As I have seen them dumping bags of bloody meat into a pot...confused about how to clean hands, ended up using the hand towel on the cart and then went on to touching everything, money, plates... 555.  Many places they just don't wash their hands.

Dishwashing 101... ok, use soap, then where or how clean is the water used to rinse?

People should not HAVE to walk in the street to go around these places or dodge eye level sharp sticks used to support barred electrical wires or walk near boiling pots of very old and black oil... 555

Do they even wash the pesticide drenched vegetables???

Have you seen the "fresh" meat delivered in the opened back pickup sitting in the sun, no refrigeration, fly covered?  555

 

With this all said, I have yet to be seriously sick from "street" food, then again I rarely eat it anymore as I'm rarely on the street at night.  

There are still a few secret set ups that I will frequent when I desire that particular cuisine.

 

Many places buy their cooked foods (thinking khao ka moo, khao mon gai and...???) from big shops that are cooking it for all the other vendors, so you're basically eating the same food, different shop.  
Many places have cut corners to stay profitable and that means eating bits of chicken that I wouldn't give the dog and stalks of something that was probably a green vegetable.  

 

I'll stick to eating in the established shops that put out good quality tasty food.  Let the locals and backpackers have the street food.

 

[jaiyen]

When we are in Bangkok we usually eat in the food halls of the big shopping centres e.g. Paragon, Big C, Terminal 21. The food is cheap, there is a huge selection, big turnover and appears to be hygienic. Never had any problems. Terminal 21 seems to be the best.  However out in the country and other big towns. it will all stay as normal. They just want to make a show for the tourists. Dont care about where the Thai people will get their food for the day at a cheap price.

[mtls2005]

At first it seemed like the main issue was encroachment (on the road or foot-path); now it seems like the focus is on health/cleanliness.

 

Thais get food poisoning all the time; they just don't talk about. It's really not that unusual. (Admittedly some of this is due to lactose intolerance, and indulging in dairy products.)

 

Yes, I understand that many, many, many foreigners only get sick eating at western-style restaurants here, and that they can eat Thai food off the ground thousands of times and not get sick.

 

Some of the weak-links in the food sanitation 'chain' involve washing of dishes/glasses/utensils, storage of ice, raw meat hanging in the cabinet all day, dishes which are not dosed with an excess of Ajinimoto and cooked at very high temperatures, under-cooked eggs, raw dishes and veg.

 

Hopefully the people handling the food do not have TB.

 

 

 

 

[CLW]

The food court at Terminal21 is fantastic

[phuketrichard]

how does a 2 day training equate to what they do once they are on the streets>
 

same as knowing a stop sign means u MUST stop does not seem to really make many actually stop

[Regyai]

So

 

Lets flex our military biceps and sweep the streets clear of food sellers

 

But

 

Weve just been voted the worlds best at something

 

Whats that?

 

errr Street Food

 

Oops pass that face cloth and egg remover

 

Weeeell we will have to legislate it to death cos I cant unflex this damned bicep.

 

 

 

Is there no bounds to these peoples' puerility?

Edited May 23, 2017 by Regyai
Typo

[Shaunduhpostman]

What happened to the food stall apocalypse the BMA was crowing about a month ago? Which then makes you wonder if they will actually conduct dishwashing classes and put food hawkers through more red tape. And only Chinatown and Khao San Road, all this for hawkers from just two areas? Another poorly written article or is that what they are going to do just deal with two areas. Why doesn't the BMA just send someone around collecting 1000 baht "fees" and call it good as it doesn't seem there's enough interest to actually do what they threatened a month ago.

 

"The internationally recognised areas of Yaowarat and Khao San Road were targeted for cleanliness, safety and order improvement following news that Bangkok City was named the finest street food destination in the world by CNN for the second year earlier this year. "

 

So then because the street food areas are rated best in the world by CNN, you "target" those areas for a shakeup. A well known pattern in Thai life, those who succeed are punished.

 

Edited May 23, 2017 by Shaunduhpostman
to add a quote

[elgordo38]

Oh dear Thailand what is left? New regulations on food? (has there been mass die offs lately?) A serious move to eradicate the sex trade the price of alcohol is rising and bombings dangerous roads polluted beaches pick pockets. Am I really safe here behind my keyboard? Oh Lordy.

[NoshowJones]

4 hours ago, CLW said:

The food court at Terminal21 is fantastic

I always wanted to try it, but don't have the patience to stand in queues, first to buy the token, then to buy the food. But it shows how popular they are, and how good the food is.

[CLW]

I always wanted to try it, but don't have the patience to stand in queues, first to buy the token, then to buy the food. But it shows how popular they are, and how good the food is.

Yes, true. During peak hours it's very,very busy.
And the value card you can only use on the same day

[Retiredandhappyhere]

Whether we agree with the news regulations are acceptable or not, at least we can rest assured that they will be rigidly monitored and enforced.... possibly for as long as a week.

[jerojero]

Pass a test? Yes, start the brown envelopes flow...

[pauleddy]

Since I broke my arm on a sidewalk covered with pork-fat, I have hoped that ALL street food be banned. The sites at Convent, also, are so narrow that I must walk in the road, which in LOS can be suicidal.

 

Before the Thailandophiles start to cut me up, let's say that there is a solution? Like having a licence from H and S and being confined to purpose-built areas.

 

Does anybody actually KNOW what is happening with this, or is it another five-minute wonder?

 

Eddy