Many Thai Vendors Selling Contaminated Food

At least half of the 10,000 stalls inspected by city authorities this year were serving food seriously contaminated by bacteria, chemicals, lead or excessive food coloring.

“Many of the food vendors live in slums,” Thamnoon Vaniyapong, a deputy governor of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, said Thursday.

“They cook everything above polluted water. Dogs and cats come to lick their materials, pots, pans. Then they decorate it so it looks good and they sell it along the streets.”

Working with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, Thai officials are teaching vendors and customers about hygiene, Thamnoon said.