Thai FDA revises produce import inspection rules

Thai FDA revises produce import inspection rules    The Thai food and drug administration will implement new inspection procedures for fresh fruit and vegetable imports, effective July 1.
   The new inspection process requires Thai FDA officials to sample fruits and vegetables from each shipment to 'quick' test for pesticide residues.
   The agency said its field tests should take no longer than three hours. If the test results are negative, then the shipments will be released. If positive, samples will be sent to the national laboratory in Bangkok for re-testing within one working day.
   Shipments accompanied by either a lab test report or certificate from an government-approved third-party laboratory will not be quick field tested and immediately released.
   According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service, Thailand in 2008 imported 490,960 tons of fruits and vegetables of which more than 37 percent was from China. Thailand imported 28,256 tons of fruits and vegetables from the United States in 2008 valued at $32 million.