Bangkok, 7 April, 2018 – According to the report on the criticism of unsanitary foods in Maeklong Railway Market, Samut Songkhram Province, Mr. Nisit Chansomwong, Deputy Permanent Secretary of Interior, as a spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, clarified that; Maeklong Railway Market has been a local way of life of Samut Songkhram for 60-70 years. It is an unseen tourist attraction with approximately 3,000 tourists daily who visit the trading lifestyle of the market.
There are 2 types of foods in the market; fresh foods, fruits and vegetables, and dry foods packed in bags, with no cooked food available in the market. The fresh foods bought from the market need to be washed and cooked before eating.
Samut Songkhram Municipality and the train station clean up the market twice a week, while venders of the market clean their own area regularly every day.
In order to provide more conveniences and prepare for increasing tourists in the future, Samut Songkhram Province has planned to ask for tourists to litter only in garbage pails, install more signs on cleaning campaign in English/Chinese, clean the market every three days, provide more littering areas, etc.
In addition, Samut Songkhram Province would apply the Ministry of Health’s Standard of Safety Market to be a guideline for the management and development of Maeklong Railway Market in order to meet the safety standard for sustainability of the market.
Today, TAT has inspected the market and found that tourists still visit the market as usual. According to the Maeklong Train Station Master, most European tourists would come to take photos of this unique market, while Asian and Chinese tourists would also love to buy seasonal fruits.
