Dietary exposure of Thais to pesticides during 1989-1996.

To monitor the exposure of the Thai to pesticide residues in foods, the intake of pesticides based on the total diet approach has been studied in Thailand continually since 1989. Food items were chosen and their proportions of daily consumption were calculated from the national food consumption survey conducted by the Department of Health in 1986. Seventy-seven items of food including drinking water were classified into 12 groups according to their sources of contamination and the analytical methods used.

Accreditation of analytical laboratories and proficiency testing: experiences from Thailand on the issues of pesticide analysis.

Thailand, the economic growth of which largely depends on agriculture-based industry, recognizes the importance of international standards for harmonization of international food trade and for protection of human health from chemicals used as food additives or those present as contaminants. Pesticides which are widely used in Thailand are the anticholinesterase pesticides, pyrethroids, coumarin derivatives, bipyridinium salts, and to some extent organochlorine compounds such as DDT in malaria control. Proficiency testing and accreditation of laboratories are recognized as effective means to ensure quality and validity of data and to enable adequate risk assessment of pesticide residues in food, work environment and environment in general.

Laboratory proficiency testing of aflatoxins in corn and peanuts--a cooperative project between Thailand and the United States.

The objective of this project was to conduct an aflatoxin proficiency test program in government, academia, and industry laboratories in Thailand. Aflatoxin-free corn and peanuts and corn and peanuts naturally contaminated with aflatoxins diluted to approximately 25 micrograms/kg were analyzed. Homogeneity of prepared, naturally contaminated test samples was checked on multiple replicates.