Thai ministry discusses agricultural product labelling for safety
Agricultural labelling plan aims to boost transparency and promote local produce for international markets
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Itti Sirilattayakarn chaired a meeting to discuss plans for agricultural product labelling.
The meeting, held in meeting room 134 at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, involved representatives from key departments such as the National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards (ACFS), the Department of Fisheries, the Department of Livestock Development, the Rice Department, and the Department of Agriculture.
The focus was the creation of labels for agricultural products to provide consumers with vital information like the origin of products, aiding in informed purchasing decisions and ensuring consumer safety within the country.
The ACFS was tasked with coordinating with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to explore the feasibility of labelling imported agricultural products.
The proposal aims to prevent redundancy and ensure legal alignment, enhancing the traceability of imported agricultural products.
Currently, the ministry’s agencies use symbols or quality seals to assure consumers of product standards, quality, and safety, such as the Q-Mark from the ACFS.
This mark, indicating agricultural product quality standards, is available in two forms: the general quality certification (General Q and Organic Thailand) and the compulsory standard certification (Compulsory Q), both of which allow for traceability of product origins.
Additionally, the ACFS has developed the QR-Trace on Cloud system, which provides traceability for agricultural products by batch, including production dates, production volumes, certified standards, and buyers, via QR codes.
The meeting also highlighted other symbols used by various departments: the Green Flag Fisheries emblem by the Department of Fisheries, the Livestock OK and Cage-free DLD emblems by the Department of Livestock Development, the General Q and Q-Organic Thailand by the Department of Agriculture, and the Geographical Indication (GI) registration mark for rice products by the Ministry of Commerce’s Rice Department, reported KhaoSod.
The Ministry of Commerce has officially granted GI certification to the Koh Sukorn watermelon, making it Thailand’s first GI-certified watermelon variety.
This milestone is a significant achievement for the small island of Koh Sukorn in Trang province, with Deputy Commerce Minister Napintorn Srisunpang celebrating it as a triumph for local agriculture and identity.
Latest Thailand News
Follow The Thaiger on Google News:
