Industry Ministry to fight low-quality kitchenware by setting new TIS standard
The Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) will this year announce safe industrial standards for seven items of stainless steel kitchenware to protect consumers from low-quality foreign products flooding the market.
Industry Minister Pimphattra Wichaikul said on Wednesday that the Thai market is flooded with low-quality stainless steel kitchenware, especially through online channels.
She said she was worried that such inferior products would pose health risks for Thais, so she ordered TISI to regulate the products to minimise health risks.
She added that products like spoons and forks are in direct contact with food, so if they are contaminated with dangerous metals and metalloids, consumers will be at risk and suffer health issues in the long run.
The ministry had earlier set safety standards for melamine, plastic and Teflon, and wants TISI to also announce Thai Industrial Standards (TIS) on stainless steel foodware and serving ware.
Banchong Sukreetha, deputy permanent secretary for the Industry Ministry who chairs the TIS committee, said the panel had resolved on March 28 to have stainless steel kitchenware regulated under TIS standards.
Banchong said the committee will have TISI announce TIS standards on stainless steel kitchenware within this year.
Wanchai Phanomchai, TISI secretary-general, said the agency will announce TIS standards on seven stainless steel kitchenware items such as pots, pans, spatulas, spoons, forks, food trays, and lunch boxes.
He said TIS will speed up the process of announcing these standards within this year and will require that all products in these seven groups carry the TIS mark.
The TIS mark means these products are safe for consumers and do not cross the safe levels of metals and metalloids that may prove to be dangerous like chromium, nickel, lead, cadmium, arsenic and molybdenum.
Once the standards have been announced, importers will be required to seek permission from TISI before importing such products. Each imported product will also require a TIS mark, otherwise importers or manufacturers will be liable to a maximum jail term of two years and/or a fine of up to 2 million baht.
Owners of shops that sell steel products without TIS marks will be liable to a maximum jail term of six months and/or a fine of up to 500,000 baht, Wanchai added.
