Thailand is not shy about promoting its farm products and national cuisine a perhaps over-sized sense of pride that has emboldened the government to position the kingdom as the "kitchen of the world" and enshrine our gastronomic heritage as "soft power".
The Department of Agriculture has ordered an investigation after tests by the Thai Pesticide Alert Network (ThaiPAN) found worrying levels of chemical contamination in fruits and vegetables on sale in markets and malls.
MRLs Thai red grapes
All 30 random samples of red grapes and dates exceeded the maximum residue level (MRL) permitted, while pomelo was the only product found to be safe from chemical contamination reports www.asiaone.com.
ThaiPAN tested 509 samples of fruit and vegetables 201 from six malls and 308 from 10 markets. Among them were locally produced products as well as imports, both certified and non-certified.
In response to the test results, Department of Agriculture director-general Pichet Wiriyapaha has ordered officials to conduct inspections on supermarket fruit and vegetables labelled Organic Thailand, Q GAP, Thai GAP, PGS, or with foreign organic standards. If any are found to exceed maximum residue levels, the relevant certification authority will be t