Waiter, there's a fish in my veggies

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Waiter, there's a fish in my veggies
Police have cracked down on fake vegetarian food
Published: 11/10/2010 at 12:00 AM
Bangkok Post: Newspaper section: News
 
Police have treated a seemingly trivial complaint over fake vegetarian food seriously, knowing how passionate vegetarians are to avoid eating meat.

Police investigator Saichon Timsin of the Consumer Protection Division admitted he first viewed the complaint as a minor crime.

But he later learned that "in the mind of vegetarians it's a very big issue". He was embarking on a mission to crack down on vendors who stick vegetarian tags on food containing meat and sell it to consumers during the Vegetarian Festival.

It is a food producer trick to imitate the look and taste of such meat dishes as meatballs, sausages and fried fish patties. But instead of using flour, vegetables and spices to cook them, they add a "secret ingredient" to intensify the tastes. The practice has finally been exposed by police and health officials.

The investigation led police to arrest Prayad Saenyabut early last week after they found her Yong Pun Vegetarian Co, importer of vegetarian food, distributed fake vegetarian food to Je Hong Ta shop on Ngam Wong Wan Road.

The officers took more than a month to close the case, which was longer than expected, Pol Lt Col Saichon and his supervisor Preutipong Prayoonsiri said.

Their investigation started after a complaint over fake vegetarian food was filed by the Vegetarian Club of Thailand, which had suspected for years some manufacturers and sellers mixed meat products into "vegetarian" food.

Pol Col Preutipong took the case seriously because the issue "strongly affects" vegetarians. His agency then teamed up with officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The team first surveyed shops selling instant vegetarian products and sampled them. The only conclusive way to ascertain whether food contains meat is to analyse the products in a laboratory to find traces of the DNA of animals.

The process was arduous because the DNA tests required at least two weeks to return a result and provide key evidence.

Police, anxious whether they could identify wrongdoers before the start of the Vegetarian Festival on Friday, waited for 22 days until they were handed test results from FDA staff.

The results showed so-called vegetarian shrimp and crab meatballs sold by Je Hong Ta shop had traces of fish DNA. They are FDA-certified products and serial numbers told police they were imported by Yong Pun Vegetarian Co. After obtaining a search warrant, police carried out an inspection of the company's factory in Bang Khun Thian district on Oct 4 and seized whole lots of the two products.

The officers also found 17 vegetarian products with illegitimate labels at the company's warehouse in Samut Sakhon's Muang district. The "meat-imitating products" include chicken in liquor and smoked goose meat and hams.

The company faces two counts: selling fake vegetarian food and using fake labelling. The first carries a jail term of between six and 10 years and a fine of up to 100,000 baht; the second attracts a fine of 30,000 baht.

The other DNA test results found vegetarian food sold at Anchalee shop in the Yaowarat area had traces of meat. Its vegetable balls and imitation fish patties were mixed with fish while the shop's special vegetarian food, "Junior Je", had chicken DNA. The second case is under investigation. An initial interrogation of the shop owner found the food products were imported from Malaysia, Pol Lt Col Saichon said.

Despite police moving in on fake vegetarian food, vegetarians should adopt more careful consumption practices. They should avoid eating food that imitates the look and taste of meat if they do not want to risk eating meat, police said.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crimes/200701/waiter-there-a-fish-in-my-veggies