Korean ramen taken off Thai shelves until proven safe

BANGKOK, November 7 (TNA) - Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken immediate action to block sales for domestic consumption of instant noodles imported from Korea, after a cancer-causing substance was detected in the food product shipped to other Asian markets by a Korean manufacturer. Following a recent recall of instant noodles produced by South Korea’s Nongshim Company sold in the Philippines, China and South Korea as benzopyrene, a cancer-causing substance, was found in the food product, new Thai FDA Secretary-General Dr. Boonchai Somboonsuk told reporters on Tuesday that he has ordered FDA officials nationwide to be on high alert and to block all imported Nongshim noodles at custom checkpoints at the moment for laboratory tests based on a random basis. Dr. Boonchai said that local distributors have also been asked to take the Korean-brand instant noodles off shelves nationwide until the imported food product is officially proven safe for consumers. The Thai FDA chief pledged to urgently inspect the Korean noodle samples and to totally block all food products suspected for any contamination from domestic sales and consumption. (TNA)