BANGKOK – On May 20, Dr. Yongyot Thammawut, Director-General of the Department of Medical Sciences, held a press conference to announce the results of testing 10-year-old rice from a warehouse in Surin Province, which was received from the Ministry of Commerce. The tests focused on chemical residues, contamination of toxic substances from mold, and the nutritional quality of the rice, using the ISO/IEC 17025 standard quality system.
The rice sent for testing by the Ministry of Commerce consisted of two samples: 3 kilograms and 5 kilograms of rice, which were sent on May 9, 2024. The Department of Medical Sciences also purchased two additional samples of rice from stores around the ministry to serve as control samples for comparison with the rice consumed by the public daily. The results showed that there were no differences in nutritional value and no contaminants were found.
Dr. Yongyot stated that the testing for aflatoxins (B1+B2+G1+G2) and 7 other types of mold, including Deoxynivalenol, Fumonisins (B1+B2), Ochratoxin A, Citrinin, Trichothecenes HT-2 toxin, Trichothecenes T-2 toxin, and Zearalenone. The tests showed no residues of these substances were found. When the tests were repeated for another round, no residues were found either.
In the examination for vitamins and minerals that were expected to have deteriorated, it was found that the 4 rice samples had no differences in their vitamin and mineral content.
“This is what the Department of Medical Sciences has been testing for the past 10 days, confirming that the tests were conducted straightforwardly by skilled and independent personnel,” he said.
As the Director-General, he insisted that he never instructed, ordered, or pressured anyone to conduct the tests in any way. He also confirmed with the executives of the Department of Medical Sciences that the press conference must be based on the results sent by the scientists in the lab, and there will be no distortion from the test results, not even a single item.
Earlier, a reporter of the 3-dimension news program at Channel 3 who had received some of the rice at the Surin warehouse sent the samples for testing at the laboratory of Kasetsart University. The news program reported the result on May 18 that there is no toxic substances that cause cancer (aflatoxins) or contaminants harmful to consumption.
The rice brought for testing this time is part of the 112,711 bags stored in the warehouse of Kitttichai Company, Lang 2, Prasat District, and 32,879 bags stored at Poon Phol Trading Company, Mueang District, Surin Province, totaling approximately 150,000 bags.
On May 6, Mr. Phumtham Wechayachai, Minister of Commerce, invited the media, mill owners, exporters, the provincial governor, the provincial police chief, members of the House of Representatives, and relevant individuals to witness the rice being packed and loaded onto police trucks to be taken to Poon Phol Trading Co., Ltd. mill, Lang 4, Chaneang Subdistrict, Mueang Surin District. The rice was to be cooked and eaten to prove that the rice stored in the two warehouses was well-preserved and of sufficient quality to be put up for auction for export.
Phumtham confirmed that the government’s handling of this matter has nothing to do with former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was found guilty of negligence in the rice pledging scheme, causing damage. He merely wants to manage the rice that is still left in the warehouses, which the private sector considers to be of good quality and wants to export to Africa.
“Those who come to bid will listen to the information from the Department of Medical Sciences, and they will have to check the quality themselves as well. We do not think that the lives of Thai people are more important or that African people are not important, but Africa is a market that buys old rice, and this rice is Hom Mali rice, so it should be even better. I have eaten it and have had no problems,” he said.
He said that the Ministry of Commerce would conduct the auction within May or at the latest by June.
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