Commerce to organise stringent inspections of rice quality
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Action plan to restore image after contamination reports
The Commerce Ministry will forge closer ties with the Health Ministry’s Science Service Department and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to launch an action plan for checking the quality of rice in warehouses and wholesale and retail shops, as well as modern traders.
The aim is the urgent rehabilitation of the reputation of Thai rice after reports of some contamination in packed produce.
After the first meeting of the Anti-contaminated Rice Trade Centre, Deputy Commerce Ministry Yanyong Phuangrach said the ministry had found that most rice was still of good quality and safe for consumption.
However, recent reports of contamination have encouraged the ministry to inspect rice quality stringently to ensure consumer health both domestically and overseas.
The inspection action plan should be finalised by next week. After that, officials will be sent out to check on rice quality, examining both physical appearance and chemical content.
Yanyong said the stringent inspection would ensure that the standard of Thai rice standard was above that of other countries.
The team will randomly check each rice warehouse and wholesale and retail outlets, as well as rice packs being sold at modern-trade shops. The results will be reported to the public every few weeks.
According to the ministry, only one complaint was filed about low-quality packed rice this month.
Under FDA regulations, traders of low-quality rice will be subject to fines of Bt20,000 and/or two years in jail, while the product will be seized. The government can also order plants to shut down operations and withdraw their business licences.
