9 children get blood disorder after eating sausages from illegal Chon Buri factory

Nine children have methemoglobinemia, a blood disorder, after they ate sausages from one factory in Chon Buri. Local police and officials from the Food and Drug Administration inspected the factory and talked to the owner after labels on the factory’s products matched what the children had eaten. The owner admitted to producing sausage products for five years without a permit. Her name was withheld. The products had no FDA approval and the chief of the Consumer Protection Police Division said the factory did not pass good manufacturing standards, or “GMS.”

The chief said the factory violated many sections of the Food Act, including producing food products that fail to follow GMS and displaying false product labels. The GMS failure carries a fine of up to 10,000 baht and displaying false labels carries a fine of up to 30,000 baht. The factory had 32 brands and some products showed halal certificates. The chief said if the products are found to be fake, the penalty could be between six months and 10 years in jail, or a fine from 5,000 baht to 100,000 baht, or both. No charges have been pressed yet.

People get methemoglobinemia when their red blood cells have abnormal amounts of methemoglobin, said FDA Deputy Secretary General Withit Saritdeechaikul. This makes people dizzy and fatigued, and short of breath. People who have it severely can get blue hands and feet, and even die.

Source: Bangkok Post