Thai FDA urged to act on contaminated grapes

Thailand Consumers Council is urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take legal action against importers of Shine Muscat grape after lab tests showed some samples were contaminated with chemicals which are banned in Thailand.

According to TCC, 23 out of 24 Shine Muscat grape samples tested by the council last week were found to be contaminated with hazardous chemical residues beyond the acceptable legal limit. Some were contaminated with chlorpyrifos and endrin aldehyde, which are banned under current food safety laws. 

TCC secretary-general Saree Aongsomwang said on Sunday the FDA should take legal action against importers who brought in the tainted grapes. Those that have already been imported but have yet to be distributed must be inspected thoroughly, and those which are contaminated should be destroyed.

Ms Saree called on grape importers to recall their products to be thoroughly inspected. She also called on the FDA to ban companies which are found to have knowingly imported contaminated grapes.

The TCC purchased the 24 samples from different places — two from online shops, seven from fruit shops and fresh markets and 15 samples from modern trade — on Oct 2-3 in Bangkok and surrounding provinces.

Lab tests found residues of 14 harmful chemicals at concentrations above the safety limit of 0.01 mg/kg. In total, the tests detected also 50 chemical laws residues, 22 of which are not regulated under current Thai law, such as triasulfuron, cyflumetofen, tetraconazole and fludioxonil.

FDA secretary-general Surachoke Tangwiwat on Sunday clarified that out of 50 chemical residues detected, 36 did not exceed the safety limit, while 14 are not on the watchlist due to a lack of information on their risks.

He urged consumers to wash fruits thoroughly before consuming them.

Dr Surachoke emphasised the FDA’s commitment to ensuring consumer safety, saying imports which are found to be contaminated will be seized and legal actions will taken against importers.

Meanwhile, vendors at a market in Nakhon Ratchasima's Muang district said after the news broke, consumers have been avoiding Shine Muscat grapes, despite offering them at a 70% discount, leading many of them to remove them from their shelves. 

Thaworn Prommee, 58, said that half of his stock has spoiled, despite it being the shop's best seller before the news broke.

She added that business operators are suffering significant losses as a result.