Food Safety, Sustainability,
Labor Practices and Politics

The exhibition on “Food Safety from Thailand” at Thaifex focused on the system employed by Thai producers to guarantee traceability and prevent contamination of chicken, fruit, vegetable, shrimp and other seafood products.

Having walked the aisles of numerous food trade shows and dined at perhaps a few too many buffets and banquets along the way during the past few months, several recurring themes have echoed from Brussels to Bangkok and from Kochi to New York. The drumbeats of food safety, sustainability and rising production costs are being amplified globally, and a number of articles in this issue of QFFI address the issues head on.

Let it be stated right off the bat that despite what can only be described as an outbreak of food safety hysteria in some quarters, the world has not been plunged back into the meat packing mayhem of The Jungle, as described by muckraking journalist Upton Sinclair in his novel of the same name published in 1905.

Yet if you listened to street interviews among obviously scientifically-challenged but politically-charged consumers in Seoul during the mass demonstrations which threatened to topple the Korean government recently, imported beef from the USA posed an impending health threat to the nation. Of course, this is utter nonsense, driven by economic protectionism and fueled by nationalism and a tsunami of anti-government sentiment. In the end, despite the political brouhaha that continues in the ROK, American beef imports were allowed – though restricted to products derived only from young cattle. Old cows, apparently more likely to be Mad Cows than their juniors, are still banned from the diets of beef-loving Koreans. Unless, that is, they live outside of Korea.

It just so happens that my office, situated in Fort Lee at the foot of the George Washington Bridge which separates New Jersey from New York City, is in a town where Korean-American and Korean-born residents account for perhaps one-third of the population. So, not surprisingly, there is no shortage of Korean barbecue houses and tofu specialty rooms where one can dine.

I made a point to visit a number of them recently, including the So Kong Dong Restaurant on Main Street, to find out if “dangerous” American beef had been yanked off the menu. It had not, and was not about to be removed either. The Beef Kalbi served up was USDA Grade A Prime, and much to my delight the dish was as delicious as always. Furthermore, I walked out of the place in good health and there were zero reports of any customers having taken ill after dining at the establishment.

Having spent some time with a Korean immigrant to the United States that day, I asked for his opinion about the controversy. “I have no problem at all eating American beef. What is going on in Seoul is all about politics,” he commented. “When my wife turns on the Korean language TV station and the US beef boycott story is repeated over and over again, I just shake my head in disbelief.”

Of course, this is not to say that legitimate complaints about food safety don’t exist. Certainly there are a number of serious issues regarding unscrupulous producers and exporters, and you can read more details on this subject on pages 101-102. China has taken its share of hits over lax food safety enforcement during the past year, some rightfully so and some no doubt also due primarily to political and economic considerations.

Thailand, whose government championed food safety and wholesomeness long before it became politically correct, is now benefiting from its steadfast adherence to doing the right thing. Some food importers, who until recently may have placed low-cost production highest on their list of priorities, are now wisely returning to the safety and comfort zones provided by suppliers who guarantee not only safety, but full traceability. And they’re willing to pay a bit more for such assurance, as evidenced at the Thaifex in Bangkok [see story on pages 98-100].

While on the subject of Thailand, let me briefly comment on publication of The True Cost of Shrimp, a controversial report issued by a US organized labor affiliate, which alleges labor abuse in the shrimp processing industries of Thailand and Bangladesh [see story on pages 34-35]. As somebody who first toured shrimp farms in Thailand more than 20 years ago, and who has since visited aquaculture sites around the world from Ecuador to China, I can attest that the operations in Thailand are world-class in every way.

Whether in Thailand, China or India, whenever I have seen children at shrimp ponds they were invariably the offspring of farmers helping out their fathers and mothers with chores – not victims of child labor abuse.

In this day and age, when sustainability of increasingly costly fish, fowl, crops and food stocks is high on the agenda, let’s never forget about the sustainability of farm families who in many developing countries work hard to produce the harvests that sustain and nourish us all – while reducing poverty in the bargain.