Thailand's FDA implements strict measures to ensure safe apples for people

BANGKOK, January 19 (TNA) - Thailand's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has introduced three measures to strictly check apples, especially those imported from the United States, to ensure safe apples for local consumers. FDA Deputy Secretary-General Dr. Paisarn Dunkum told journalists on Monday that the newly-introduced measures were in response to the US Food and Drug Administration's informing Thailand recently of its recall of Gala and Granny Smith apples under the Granny’s Best and Big B brands of Bidart Bros Co. The US-FDA said it had found that touches of the products could be fatal as they were involved in the epidemic of the listeriorsis disease, which could harm consumers, particularly newborns, pregnant women, the elderly and those with immune deficiency. The Thai FDA deputy chief stated that staffs of FDA’s Laem Chabang checkpoint in the Thai East have been checking apples imported from the United States based on the three newly-introduced measures. According to the Thai FDA deputy chief, the three measures include blocking Gala and Granny Smith apples of the “Granny’s Best” and “Big B” brands by Bidart Bros and sending such products back to their origin, if found, and officials' collecting samples of Gala and Granny Smith apples of other brands for examination at the Thai Ministry of Public Health's Department of Medical Science and asking importers of such products to suspend their sales pending the examination. Thirdly, Thai FDA officials will collect samples of general apples from their checkpoints for examination for the sake of surveillance. The senior official noted that the measures will also be implemented by provincial health officials at retail and wholesale markets nationwide for consumer protection. The senior official vowed that the Thai FDA will definitely ban imports and recall substandard and hazardous apples proved to harm consumers. (TNA)