Thailand's response to the protein powder incident: no BSE in Thailand

Introduction: on July 11, local authorities said recently that Thailand's Ministry of livestock development has taken extremely strict control measures on the use of imported meat and bone meal in the feed industry, and Thailand's poultry meat is not likely to be infected with BSE The statement was used in response to a report by a British newspaper Dutch processors are adding protein powder from pork and beef to imported chicken for high profits, which could lead to the spread of mad cow disease, the report said According to the article, most of these chicken suppliers come from Thailand, Russia and Brazil, where the labor force is relatively cheap Although it did not specify which country's chicken was mixed with protein powder, Thai exporters were worried about the negative impact on their products in the EU market The EU is the second largest poultry meat export market in Thailand Last year, Thailand exported 437797 tons of poultry meat, worth 38 billion baht, of which 33.4% was exported to the EU Thailand's poultry industry director said strict EU safety inspection standards have already assured European consumers of the quality of Thai poultry meat; otherwise, these products would not be allowed to enter the region "Thai chicken is 100% tested and DNA tested to make sure it doesn't contain illegal drugs like furacilin Products that meet the requirements and enter the (EU) market are, of course, safe, "he said The revised export target of Thai chicken this year is only 380000 tons, worth about 32 billion baht, which means that the export volume and export value are 13.2% and 16.7% lower than last year respectively, according to a data from Thailand chicken processing and Export Association In the first five months of this year, Thailand exported 159037 tons of poultry, worth 13.3 billion baht.