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High Pesticide Levels Detected in Chinese Shine Muscat Grapes

The Thai Pesticide Alert Network (Thai-PAN) has issued warnings about contamination in Shine Muscat grapes imported from China after discovering that most of the tested samples had hazardous chemical residues exceeding the maximum allowed levels.

On Thursday, Thai-PAN, along with the Thailand Consumers Council (TCC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), shared the results of their lab tests.

Prokchon Usap, the coordinator for Thai-PAN, reported that the TCC purchased 24 samples of the popular grapes from various sources, including two from online stores, seven from fruit shops and fresh markets, and 15 from supermarkets, on October 2 and 3. The prices ranged from 100 to 699 baht per kilogram.

“Only nine samples could be identified as having been imported from China, while the country of origin for the remaining 15 samples could not be identified,” she said.

“It was quite shocking when we saw that 23 out of 24 samples had pesticide residues exceeding the legal limit.”

She highlighted that one sample contained chlorpyrifos, an insecticide banned in Thailand.

Moreover, 22 samples had 14 different types of harmful chemical residues above the safety threshold of 0.01 mg/kg, along with an additional 50 pesticide residues, including 22 chemicals such as triasulfuron, cyflumetofen, tetraconazole, and fludioxonil not yet regulated under Thai law.

Ms. Prokchon noted that these pesticides are embedded in the grapevine tissue, making their removal challenging.

Thai-PAN and the TCC have called on the Ministry of Public Health to take swift action, such as requiring importers and distributors to clearly label the country of origin on imported Shine Muscat grapes.

Dr. Wattanasak Sornrung, director of the FDA’s Food and Drug Inspection Checkpoint Division, noted that the FDA has inspected 264 tonnes of imported Shine Muscat grapes, valued at 72 million baht, this year.

He reported that only four samples were found to exceed the pesticide safety standards, and legal actions have been initiated against the respective importers.

He also mentioned that grapes imported by train from China were all found to be safe.

“The FDA will take stronger action to check imported fresh fruit and vegetables,” he said. “More samples will be needed, and instead of waiting the current three days, the test findings must be released within 24 hours.”