Chicken blood banned in food
THE LIVESTOCK Development Department (LDD) has banned the use of chicken blood as an ingredient pending a probe into which food-processing factory is responsible for many cases of Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections.
This bacteria causes food poisoning and is believed to have come from chicken blood.
“Infections reported in Chiang Mai province have been traced to a factory in Nakhon Ratchasima province, but we have to determine which one exactly,” LDD deputy director-general Soravit Taneeto said yesterday.
He is confident that given the standards used by Thailand-based factories, relevant authorities will be able to trace the origin of the bacterium. V parahaemolyticus can be found in freshwater fish and at chicken farms. Aware of the risk, the Nakhon Ratchasima health office has asked that all primary schools in the province exclude chicken blood from student lunch menus.
All shops selling khao man kai (chicken and oily, flavourful rice) are also encouraged to leave chicken blood out of their recipes.
According to the Disease Control Department, 128,082 people suffered from food poisoning last year. Analyses show that of these patients, 9,132 were involved in 173 outbreaks. Of these outbreaks, 43 were related to khao man kai. All 43 of these outbreaks were reported during the last eight months of the year.
Soravit said all food sellers should understand that they need to boil chicken blood before serving it to customers.
