Bangkok —
On August 2nd, 2024, the Consumer Protection Police Division (CPPD), in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), conducted inspections of 12 Chinese supermarkets across Bangkok.
The operation led to the seizure of 1,878 food items across 73 categories, all lacking Thai language labels. It is mandatory to label imported products with Thai language labels, noted TPN.
The investigation was prompted by public complaints about the proliferation of Chinese supermarkets in Bangkok and other tourist destinations, which were allegedly selling food products without Thai labels.
It was reported that these items had not been approved by the FDA, and authorities coordinated with various agencies to carry out the comprehensive inspection of the 12 targeted supermarkets. The large quantity of unlabeled food products found raised significant concerns to the public.
All seized items have been retained as evidence. Authorities plan to issue summonses to the owners of the 12 supermarkets to face legal proceedings for their non-compliance with labeling regulations.
Pattaya has also seen an increase of businesses that do not appear to have proper Thai writing on signs and shop fronts and products that are not also labelled in Thai and clearly approved by the Thai FDA. Thai police have promised to crackdown on all these venues and ensure they are following Thai law.
