Thailand’s DMSc warns of high nitrites in processed meat products
Monitoring from 2024 to 2026 found nitrate and nitrite contamination in several products, with one ready-to-eat meat dish nearly 50 times the legal limit.
- Thailand's Department of Medical Sciences (DMSc) found that some processed meat products contain nitrites and nitrates at levels exceeding the legal standard, particularly from small-scale producers.
- In one case, a ready-to-eat meat dish contained nitrite levels almost 50 times the legal limit, causing consumers to experience acute symptoms like dizziness, fainting, and numbness.
- The DMSc advises the public to be cautious, avoid processed meats with unnaturally dark pink or red coloring, and reduce frequent consumption to mitigate health risks.
- Authorities have urged business operators to strictly follow legal guidelines for the use of food additives to ensure consumer safety.
The Department of Medical Sciences has disclosed the results of safety monitoring of popular processed meat products over the three years from 2024 to 2026, finding contamination with “nitrates and nitrites”, or curing salts, in several products.
Some samples were found to contain the substances at levels above the legal standard, particularly products from small-scale operators lacking standardised control of production formulations.
Most recently, the Department of Medical Sciences detected nitrite levels as high as 3,880 milligrams per kilogram in a “ready-to-eat cooked meat dish”, almost 50 times the legal standard.
It was reported that some consumers experienced “acute symptoms” after eating it, including feeling faint, dizziness, numbness in the hands, muscle twitching and, in some cases, loss of consciousness, due to acute oxygen deprivation in the body.
The Department of Medical Sciences has advised the public to be more careful when buying and consuming processed meat products such as fermented pork sausage, Vietnamese pork loaf, Isan sausage and Chinese sausage.
People should avoid products with unnaturally dark pink or red colouring and cut down on frequent repeated consumption to reduce the risk from the accumulation of such substances in the body, which may be linked to the long-term risk of carcinogenic substances forming.
The Department of Medical Sciences also asked business operators to use food additives strictly in line with the criteria set by law, citing Notification of the Ministry of Public Health 2025 (No. 468) on prescribing the principles, conditions, methods and proportions for the use of food additives, to ensure the safety of all consumer groups, especially children and young people.
