Tests find no synthesised colours in sashimi in Thailand

BANGKOK, July 7 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Public Health says that recent tests on samples of sashimi, served at Japanese restaurants in Bangkok's shopping centres, showed no contamination of artificial colours. Dr. Apichai Mongkol, Director-General of the ministry's Department of Medical Sciences, told journalists of the official test results on Thursday, in response to consumers' concerns over unsafe chemical contamination shared in local social media networks on suspiciously-synthesised colours added to farmed salmon used for sashimi dishes at Japanese restaurants in the country. Dr. Apichai insisted on cooperation between his department and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office in regularly monitoring food safety on the domestic market. Dr. Apichai revealed that FDA, thus, collected six samples of sashimi from Japanese restaurants in Bangkok's shopping malls for laboratory tests in late May. According to the senior Thai health official, the results of the testsfound no artificial colours in all the samples, while other chemical contaminants, namely arsenic, lead and mercury, were found in very small amounts, not over their safety standard levels for consumption. However, the senior health official acknowledged, microbiology tests found contaminated toxin that can lead to poisonous food in three samples. The senior Thai health authority suggested that consumers choose reliable restaurants for sashimi dishes and buy only sashimi or sushi-grade raw fish from supermarkets although new six sashimi samples FDA collected early last month from three Japanese restaurants all passed the official safety tests. (TNA)