Food Safety in Thailand

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Mike

Mobile Food Vendor in Thailand selling Roti

The Roti Man

The issue of food safety in Thailand has recently attracted some attention in the local press. In the case reported, chickens, that may well have contracted Newcastle Disease,* were killed and sold to slaughter houses who introduced them into the food chain, instead of disposing of  them by burning or burying, as is required by Thai law.

While this incident is relatively small and involves chickens for consumption in Thailand it is perhaps indicative of the attitude of some Thais when it comes to matters of food safety and hygiene.

Food Hygiene and Personal Hygiene in Thailand.

I am sure if you live in Thailand or have indeed visited the country you will have enjoyed the excellent choice of tasty Thai dishes on offer. Whether its a five star restaurant or a small food stall at a market the range of flavours and choices are huge with prices to suit all pockets.  I mean where else in the world can you get a filling meal for less than £1?

However despite the excellent food on offer I do sometimes shudder at the Thai approach to food hygiene. Lack of refrigeration and facilities for even basic personal hygiene like washing hands in soap and water are virtually none existent in some restaurants, markets and on mobile food carts.

Thai Markets.

I love Thai markets just like most Thais do, plenty of fresh produce at reasonable prices however a trip to my local market in Prachuap is certainly not for the faint hearted, meat and fish hanging from hooks surrounded by flies rather than packed in ice, rats scurrying across the floor and piles of rotting vegetables awaiting disposal are just a few of the sights that await you.

While if you suddenly need the toilet, a visit to the facilities used by the public and market traders reveal cubicles with a concrete floor, a squat toilet and a large concrete container full of water. If you are lucky there is also a small plastic bowl for splashing water on your dirty bits. You won’t find toilet paper, a water gun or any hand washing facilities, let alone soap. So if you need to defecate I will let you figure out how people deal with the aftermath.

Mobile Food Vendors.

You will find mobile food vendors everywhere in Thailand, in markets, outside the local school or riding/driving along the streets selling their wares.

The real Thai take-away!

But next time you are tempted to buy a tasty treat take a close look at the facilities the vendor has. A cart, a glass box for displaying produce and a means of cooking. They might have a container of dirty water for washing utensils and some crushed ice but not always. In my opinion a breeding ground for some real nasty stomach bugs or worse.

You might also wonder where the vendor relives themselves should the urge take them and how they deal with the aftermath.

The personal hygiene I refer to in this article relates directly to food and its preparation or sale.  To suggest in any way that Thai people are dirty or unkempt would be ridiculous. Anyone who has lived here for a while will tell you appearance is an extremely important part of the local culture. However when it comes to hygiene regarding the preparation and serving of food then I certainly do have some concerns which ultimately lead me to question food safety here.

Is Food Poisioning Common in Thailand.

Personally I have never been sick as a result of eating something in Thailand. So perhaps you are thinking that this is a pointless article, you may of course be right. However let me just say that I never buy food from mobile vendors(apart from pre-packaged ice-cream) while my Thai friends do. I also refrigerate and cover cooked food while I see many Thais just leaving it open to the air and sometimes in the sun.

They, Duen, Doy and my next door neighbours are sometimes sick as a result of this. For example Doy bought some egg based sweetmeats from a street vendor only the other day and was violently sick within a couple of hours of consuming them. While Duen will often leave stuff that she intends to eat later sitting on a work surface open to the air and high temperature.

Now of course it might just be the people that I  interact with are not very food safety concious but I have a suspicion this is not really the case. I would therefore be interested to know what you think about these issues and your experiences with getting sick after eating in Thailand.

Specifically, can you also give your views on the issue of food safety in Thailand.

Footnote: Newcastle Disease is an avian disease that can affect chickens, it is not transmittable to humans and was first discovered in Newcastle(UK) in 1926.

Stop Press: 22/6/11-Read this article Mystery Tourist Death sparks E-coli Alarm

Related posts:

  1. Driving Standards and Road Safety Thailand
  2. Healthy Eating in Thailand
  3. Things I Might Miss About Thailand
  4. Thailand Government Public Relations Department
  5. Drought in Thailand 2010
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  • Kainerweissmann

    Got seriously sick two times in one year living in Thailand. Once eaten some egg based sweets and one time poisened myself with prawns. Then stopped eating from the markets. Doctor in hospital said never eat from markets cause of hygiene standards. So this article seems to be not that pointless.

    • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

      Thanks for the visit and comment. Mentioning prawns reminds me that on my first visit here back in 2000 my travelling companion got very sick with eating Tiger Prawns. we were travelling home the next day and the flight was very uncomfortable for her. Fortunately we were sat near the toilets!

  • http://www.thaisabai.org Martyn

    Mike is Newcastle disease where a chicken farmer sells all his best stock and buys back rubbish to replace them. I couldn’t resist that one.

    I’ve only ever been violently sick once before in Thailand and that was after buying a kebab in Pattaya. Like you I’m dubious about food stalls but if the food is hot then I tend to waiver my fears.

    I have always found food hygiene in the villages I have visited to be five star appalling and have often wondered how the village population has survived. Then again I do have a theory that a little virus or bug inside you builds up your immune system over the years.

    Food hygiene….Wilai’s mother has her own outside kitchen and believe me the SAS would think twice about entering it. I honestly think it would be safer to eat my food off the floor of our toilet rather than face the superbugs of mama’s kitchen.

    • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

      Martyn I figured you might say something similar ;-) I take it the Newcastle joke is football not politics!

      • http://www.thaisabai.org Martyn

         Yes football stock …I didn’t think of the political angle to it. I could have worked in under-cooked ‘red’ chicken meat somewhere.In defence of  food hygiene standards in Thai villages I must say it must be difficult, make that near impossible, to keep food at high standards in such extreme heat and with very little money to splash out on decent equipment. Maybe us westerners are just too over-protected when it comes to kitchen hygiene.Football and food.Here’s my line up of past and present footballers with food names. The line up is 4-4-2 and although I haven’t got a goalkeeper I’m hopeful of signing one by the end of this comment.See if you or anyone can beat this lot.Pat Rice (Arsenal), Guy Branston (Bradford City) , George Berry (Wolves), Trevor Cherry (Leeds), Samuele Pizza (Empoli), Tony Currie (Leeds), Aydin Tuna (Adana Demispor), Patrick Berger (Liverpool), Massimo Maccarone (Sampdoria), Nacho Novo (Rangers).I’m missing a goalkeeper so with Thai bar girls in mind I’m going for David Seaman.

        • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

          Martyn, like the team, although I would probably have put Lee Camp in goal for the ladyboys!

  • Malcolm

    Mike, for the most part there is not concert about food safety in Thailand, having been in the restaurant bussiness all my life I know a lot about food safety and have thru the years tried to pass this on to C iejay and our Thai friends and neighbors, some listen some do not , every so often I catch Ciejay not storing cooked food, meat or fish properly and  tell here to please do it the way I showed you to do, and she will answer , “MY Mom had 11 kids and we never die”, this is the Thai way, to save face , but will do it like I ask to please me (thank god for her understanding me ).The lack of washing hands is my biggest pet pev, and example , the other day I went for my monthly hair cut , I always let my beard grow for a couple of days before I go as I love a   shave after a hair cut , to make a long story short when she started to shave me her hands smelt so bad I had to say “thats ok changed my mind , no shave today ” I remembered she went into her little apt. just before she started to shave me , and NO wash hands, How many times does that happen??? I will shave at home home from now on , and while I am talking about the trip to the barber, she had just finished cutting two small boys with the clippers and then reached to get them to cut my hair, I stopped her and ask her to sanitize them first , they have the solution there , but sadly ,they never use it , does your barber just pick up the scissors and clippers and start cutting or does she sanitize first , I figured this out a few years ago when I got aa rash around ny hair line after getting a cut .This seems to be the Thai’s way , they never think about their actions and how it will affect the person they are serviceing, It’s mostly about MONEY, and the getting of it. Do you remember the sugar spill last week in the Chai Phai River that killed thousands of fish, where do you think those fish ended up???, I’ll tell you ,in the local markets all over Thailand . I pray like the Bible says to do and bless our food , no matter where or when we eat.
    Great  post and everytime I eat I think about these things and always watching for how they handle and store food , and have gotten up and walked away many a times, better safe than sorry.” We are what we eat .”                                                                                          Malcolm  

    • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

      Malcolm interesting about the barbers, the lady who does mine does exactly the same. I do notice she puts a fresh blade in the razor to trim my ears though. I too have had the neck rash but always thought it was due to sweating.

      The sugar incident was a ecological and PR disaster, I even read a comment from the boat owner who said it had sweetened up the river.

  • http://www.faranginthailand.com Colin

    Last time i was in Thailand i 

  • http://www.faranginthailand.com Colin

    Last time i was in Thailand i never got sick but was amazed by the conditions in which the food gets cooked, like Martyn said I have a little theory that over the years you build up a immune system to little food bugs and such and I feel i have a pretty strong stomach but after all the years of learning infection control being a nurse when I’m in Thailand my food will be properly stored, cooked and hands washed at all times.

    Is alcohol gel easy to readily available in Thailand? 

    • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

      Colin, we may well become immune, I am sure my Thai friends are most of the time. I have never looked for the gel you mention but I am sure its available here.

  • Lloyd

    Food preperation, storage and hygine standards throughout Asia are improving and in many provinces and cities but will always “seem somewhat less” than what most Europeans and Americans are used to. But is that the case or is it false beliefs, if it is is, is this a good thing?

    Does meat and poultry need to be stored refrgerated when it is cooked and eaten within short time frames as is more often the case in Asian cultures, or is it actually worse to chill some foods and then raise and lower the temperature often through transportation, storage and at the point of sale? Most food goodz in Asia travels very short distances between the farm and the point of sale, vastly different to most “western” countries where even a piece of chicken can be imported from thousands of miles away.

    Is it not all about the temperature that food is cooked at more so than the temperature it is stored if the food has not been chilled prior to cooking? Is there not more danger of not allowing chilled food to reach high enough temperatures throughout during cooking, which is the direct cause of most food poisoning cases!

    Most “Westerners” fool themselves into believing that their fridge is a barrier against infection and disease when in fact is it is more often than not a breeding ground.

    • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

      Lloyd you make some interesting points and I am certainly not an expert on food hygiene. My post highlights what I see everyday here, you will have seen the same, these “practices” I personally believe are not conducive to food safety.

      However it does not seem to bother or effect most Thais but perhaps it should(bother them).  Recently they were panicking about importing e-coli from Europe that made me smile given the unsanitary conditions under which food is sometimes produced and sold here.

      talk about the pan calling the kettle black ;-)

  • http://www.phanathailife.typepad.com Lawrence

    I wouldn’t argue with anything here, Mike, but I kind of wish I hadn’t read your post. No offence meant, I just don’t want to thjink about some of the things you mention.
    I have certainly been less sick in Thailand than in several other Asian countries, though I did get hepatitis back in the 1970s, which was probably caused by one or other of the things you mention.

    When Pensri and I ran a restaurant in England we were both appalled by the lack of hygiene that several of our young English helpers displayed. One of the main dangers in resturants here (in UK) that serve rice is that they re-heat it insufficiently, and keep it warm rather than letting it cool in the open air. That really breeds bacteria very effectively!

    In Thailand the only time I was REALLY sick for several days was after eating a ‘western’ breakfast in a hotel. Never from street food from stalls.

    Food poisoning seems to be a problem everywhere, I’m afraid; and the more you know about how food is prepared and served the more anxious you are bound to get.

    I’m sure Martyn is right about building up immunity. But a lot of infant mortality in Thailand has been caused by poor food hygiene, which I suppose supports the idea, the kids haven’t yet had time to build up all the immunity they need.

    An important post, timely warning to people new to the country, despite what I said in the first sentence.

    • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

      Lawrence, that’s a nicely balanced reply. The things I highlight are a part of life here, BUT, like I said I have never been sick here from food. Partly I fancy because I am choosy when it comes to sourcing stuff.

      The example about the UK is as i would suspect, I was watching a good documentary about John Barr the infamous Scottish butcher the other day and the E-Coli outbreak in Scotland a while ago. Much of what I gleaned from the programme had to do with food storage and re-heating.

      That said the shop he used was a damn sight more hygienic than anything I have ever seen here, especially in the markets.

      I would be interested to know if the Thai authorities actually keep records about food poisoning cases.

    • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

      Lawrence, thanks for taking the time to comment. Well balanced in my opinion. My post is certainly not intended to scare anyone, but as you know most of what I say is a fact of life here.

      Quite what the level of food poisoning is here I don’t know, unfortunately I doubt there are any official sources to consult(I couldn’t find any) so its all based on personal observation. The story about the UK does not surprise me in the least.

      I watched a good documentary on John Barr the infamous Scottish butcher on TV the other night. He was responsible for a huge food poisoning outbreak a few years back you may remember. To be honest Barr’s shop was on face value a lot more hygienic than anything i have seen here, but I guess the issue was about storage and re-heating food along with poor sanitation practices.

  • Fré

    Hi Mike,

    The vast majority of my food comes from basic joints (25bth-30bth/meal).

    In Prachuap I generally eat at the same places; people who run a (relatively) clean business on the street or nightmarket.

    I’ve never been belly-sick in Thailand *except* for that one time I ate those raw/bloody shellfish, expecting they would make me sick. File under: Adventerous (not suicidal). It wasn’t too bad as I got rid of it the fast natural way within 12 hours and the overall “experience” was less unpleasant than a visit to Pattaya, but that’s a matter of -euh- taste ;-)

    When I’m off for a bycicle journey I carry a small piece of hotel-soap with me. It makes things more enjoyable in case of unexpected toilet visit (and also cleans greasy fingers from the occasional mechanical breakdown).

    I must admit I have never been sick in all other places I lived/traveled (Western Africa, India and Myanmar to name just a few with not so good a reputation).

    And yes, alcohol gel is easy available in Thailand. Since last major flue (worldwide) large public places such as BKK metro/skytrain and hospitals offer free public gel available at  the entrance.

    My conclusion: Thailand is far away from Western hygienic norms but those norms are far away from common sense. The latter is what one needs when dealing with food, both as cook or customer.

    • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

      Thanks Fre, good idea about the soap. I too have travelled to India and I expected Delhi belly but was pleasantly surprised. I wonder if spices in Asian food help?

      • Fré

        i don’t think the spices help. what I was told that does help – oftenly used in African and Indian cuisine – is a thick toplayer of grease/oil (on curries and stews).  it’s said to keep bugs out (big ones and smaller ones).
        dunno. let’s ask a specialist one day.

  • http://www.strayandsnap.blogspot.com Snap

    Mike I watched a young man, wearing those latex type gloves, preparing food one day. How refreshing I thought, until I watched him cross contaminate all of the food groups and then pick up a morsel off the floor and throw it back into the mix…at least his hands would have been clean when he removed the gloves. Gotta smile, don’t you ;)

    Haven’t been sick yet (touch wood). I tend to eat where the food turnover is high or at places where I can’t see the kitchen.

    • http://www.thailand-blogs.com Mike

      Snap love the story of the gloves! So Thailand I fancy. Stay away from the Downtown Inn!