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Don’t Panic, It’s Organic
01-Jun-2008

Eve herself would be swayed by the sea of luscious fruit and vegetables on display at the market, overflowing from baskets and stalls. But there is a growing fear about how it can look so tempting for so long....

With plastic bag in hand, Mrs. Sum Rachana is perusing products to buy at Century Plaza. “Nowadays, I am very concerned about the quality of goods which are being sold on the market,” she says. A lot of the vegetables, fruit, and meat being sold on the market look very fresh and nice on the exterior, she remarks, but what lurks out of sight?

Mrs. Rachana is alluding to the overuse of potentially dangerous chemicals as preservatives. The chemicals used to keep produce fresh during transit from abroad can result in serious physical side effects for consumers. This has led many to surmise that the fresher the product looks, the more potentially harmful it is. But “even if people knew clearly that the goods had been dosed with chemicals, they would still have to buy them because of a lack of viable alternatives,” Mrs. Rachana complains.

Mr. Sun Vanndy, a fruit seller in Po Chentong Market admitted, “I don’t know if the fruit I am selling here contains chemical substances or not because I buy them from the wholesalers.” He suspects that all of the fruits use chemicals because they are imported from Thailand, China and Vietnam. “Thailand divides its fruit into two kinds,” he alleges. “If it is being kept for their own country, they don’t use chemical substances. If the fruit is to be exported then they definitely use chemicals in order to keep it fresh during transportation.”

He adds, “I also sell local fruit such as bananas, longans, and durians……. and I believe that these fruits don’t contain chemical substances. Other sellers may use substances though because they want their fruit to look as fresh as the imported goods.”

With healthcare being so expensive, it is easy to understand why Cambodian people are very fearful. Mr. Rattha, a Cam control officer in Phnom Penh states, “All the imported products are completely controlled by our experts at the border. We often have our cam control officers check the quality of the goods at the market.”

“We have an exact program to control the quality of products and foods that are being sold” he assures “because cam control officers are nationwide.” Phnom Penh alone has 30 targets that are always checked. These include the normal markets, super markets and various shops in the city. If products are suspected to contain chemical substances or are out of date, they are taken for analysis in a laboratory. “If they are found to be harmful to consumer’s health then we will confiscate them,” Mr Rattha promised.

If traders try to sell dodgy products then they can be fined up to 10 million riel under the goods safety and quality management law, with the full backing of the Ministry of Commerce. Often though, they are just warned.

Dr. Lay Sereyvuth, a Ministry of Health officer in Kampot, said “the chemical is used in foods, vegetables, and fruits to prevent them getting damaged. If the sellers added this substance in smaller doses, it wouldn’t really impact health. However, if they use too many chemicals, it can cause problems such as coughs, dizziness, headaches, diarrhea, and it can also destroy the stomach.” Dr. Sereyvuth advises that all fruit and vegetables should be washed thoroughly in fresh water with a little added salt. Extra special care must be taken with broken fruits, he warns, as poison can seep into the fruit.

With the seeds of doubt having been planted, a non-governmental organization recently set up that viable alternative. Dr. Yong Sungkoma, Director of CDAC (an NGO concerned with helping food production techniques), said his organization made a market to sell non-chemical fruits, organic rice, vegetables and chickens. The objective is to inform people about the safety, quality and source of products that they are eating everyday. And he wants villagers to participate by selling their organic products.

At Ang Tasom village, Ang Tasom commune, in the Takeo province, local villagers were trained how to plant vegetables, fruit and rice using natural fertilizers. The market was created to sell the extra surplus of organic food. It has potential to not only increase the villager’s income but to also keep them healthier. The local products have been exhibited three times and have already proven a success. Mr. Lach Pley, busy selling mixed vegetables, is delighted to have a market like this. All the villagers can sell goods that don’t utilize chemicals “and we can earn more profit to support our lives” he beams.

Dr. Lay Sereyvuth welcomes the market but warns the products must be sold at a reasonable price for it to be successful. Miss. Chenda, the project manager, assures that this will not be a problem; “The villagers selling here don’t need to pay to sell because the organization wants them to be ‘agribusiness’ people. We don’t make a profit from this market; we just want the local buyers and sellers to negotiate with each other about the quality, safety and source of [the] goods. Our organization doesn’t set the price of the products; they set themselves.”

If the market is successful and has the support of the local villagers, it will move from opening just at the weekend to opening daily, like the normal market there does. “We will make this market anywhere nationwide because we want our people to live healthily and happily.”

May Kunmakara
Photos by Heng Chivoan

Don’t Panic, It’s Organic01-Jun-2008

Eve herself would be swayed by the sea of luscious fruit and vegetables on display at the market, overflowing from baskets and stalls. But there is a growing fear about how it can look so tempting for so long....

Don’t Panic, It’s Organic
01-Jun-2008