A nationwide sweep of canned fish factories has been ordered after more cases of mislabeling were found in Samut Songkhram. The FDA and Consumer Protection Board have been instructed to prosecute strictly, with penalties including up to 10 years in prison and fines of 100,000 baht.
Ms. Supamas Isarapakdi, Minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office, revealed that following her own on-site inspections and instructions for relevant agencies to conduct further checks, additional factories using fish ingredients not matching their labels to produce canned fish have been discovered. It is not limited to just Sri Rung Ngam Foods Co., Ltd., which the governor of Samut Sakhon ordered to suspend operations temporarily.
Since the first case was found in Samut Sakhon, she has instructed the three main agencies—the Provincial Consumer Protection Board, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Provincial Industry Office—to inspect canned fish and canned food factories nationwide. They are tasked with checking GMP standards, product labels, and the ingredients used without waiting for further complaints.
“I have never considered this issue as just a mistake by a single factory and have previously ordered strict nationwide inspections. The government is prepared to follow up on every lead submitted by the public without exception.”
Ms. Supamas said that in the Samut Songkhram case, coordination has been made with the provincial governor, provincial public health office, FDA, Department of Fisheries, and Consumer Protection Board to inspect the source factory immediately. If it is found that fish species other than those stated on the label are used, legal action will be taken under the Food Act B.E. 2522 (1979) for producing counterfeit food, with penalties ranging from six months to 10 years in prison and fines from 5,000 to 100,000 baht, along with product seizure and temporary suspension of operations.
Ms. Supamas emphasized that consumer rights protection is an urgent government policy under Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who oversees the Consumer Protection Board. The government is working with the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, who supervises the Department of Fisheries, to verify fish species in every sample found and to prosecute offenders to the fullest extent.
Consumers who find products with inaccurate labels or suspect damage can report via the Consumer Protection Board hotline at 1166, FDA hotline 1556, the OCPB Connect application, or the websiteocpb.go.thor at the Damrongtham Centers in provincial halls nationwide.
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