Thread: Sick of Eating Thai Jasmine Rice

My wife and I have been ill the last few months. Several times a week we have been plagued by stomach cramps, pains, and indigestion. It took a lot of trial and error, but I finally figured out that the culprit is the Thai jasmine rice we have been eating here in the US. So, no real problem. Switch to US produced rice for the next few months until our return to Thailand. It's not as good, but it's acceptable. But is the problem only with the export jasmine rice or are we going to have problems eating the rice in Thailand, also?


I can think of only a couple of possible causes for our reaction to eating the rice. There are several varieties of Thai rice that are marketed under the name Jasmine Hom Mali Rice. Possibly we are just having a problem digesting a new variety. I consider that to be an unlikely cause. The other possible cause is chemical contamination. That could be from pesticides during growing or fumigation chemicals during storage or shipping. But looking on the internet for information of chemical contamination is frustrating.




So, my question to TD: is this a problem others (both inside and outside of Thailand) are having? If so, any thoughts on the cause?

Try Khow Daeng.

Quite a hardy texture without the so-called aromatic homogeny.

Earthy and grainy flavour.

I know a bloke who sells fertilizer to Thai farmers - drives a nice car...

When in Thailand we mostly eat sticky (glutinous) rice. Haven't had a problem with that here in the US. But, because of how it is prepared (rinsed, soaked, drained and steamed), any chemical contamination would likely not remain.

^ isn't white rice bleached?
maybe the chemicals used for bleaching by the brand you eat don't agree with you?

Originally Posted by Rural Surin

Try Khow Daeng.

Quite a hardy texture without the so-called aromatic homogeny.

Earthy and grainy flavour.

yes, good stuff.
they can keep the 'kkin hom malee shit- it smells like rat piss to me.

If u use a rice cooker all that shiyt is absorbed into the rice.

Try free boiling the rice in a pot with more water and tipping out the water excess to cut down on ingesting harmfull substances.
Its not the laziest way to cook rice but the best way to get rid of radioactive isotopes , free radicles and land mines.
I dunno what they did B4 the bastard rice cooker and electricity.

If in USA why not just buy white Basmati rice , tastes better , have nice long grains too,
and is more healthy as is not so high in the glycemic index , so less chance of developing diabetes-
better still eat more spuds !
they are what made the west great

Originally Posted by Albert Shagnastier

^ isn't white rice bleached?
maybe the chemicals used for bleaching by the brand you eat don't agree with you?

No, no bleach used on rice. It's just milled down to the white rice kernel. You may be thinking of wheat, which is often bleached when milled to make the flour a pretty bright white.

Originally Posted by blue

If in USA why not just buy white Basmati rice , tastes better , have nice long grains too,
and is more healthy as is not so high in the glycemic index , so less chance of developing diabetes-
better still eat more spuds !
they are what made the west great

In the US there are a lot of good alternatives. We do eat a fair amount of sweet potatoes, squash, and even the occasional white potato. And now there is even a variety of jasmine rice grown in Louisiana.

My main concern was whether the problem we had is only with Thai export rice, or would we get the same stomach problems from the rice when eating in Thai restaurants.

Friging hate rice!

make sure you wash well and drain then top up with fresh water if still getting a problem try getting some analised by a Lab.

Never had a stomach problem with the Jasmine rice in the States or here. All different brands too. Right now eating the stuff from Issan - best rice in Thailand. Sticky rice locks me up...

Export rice may have been sitting in the rice shed a very long time prior to shipment. Many vermin live there as well aged by weather, people who have poor health standards as well. Most of the rice is off/on loaded by big industrial equipment which adds to the possible contamination.

My wife washes the local jasmine no less than three times prior to cooking. We have not experienced any difficulties with locally grown Jasmine rice. We prefer the brown rice as its more crunchy and tastes better. Lately we add cinnamon stick or two to alter the flavor.

As with all locally produced vegetables we wash thoroughly prior to eating or cooking. This also applies to fruits.

The wife eats sticky rice on occasion, however I never eat the stuff. If I wanted to eat a ball of glue then I'd eat the stuff.

Personally I think your isolation of the problem has to be some other source. Water, coffee, smoking, tea, other?

Good luck.

Not trying to ruin your parade here. From what you are describing as the illness you are getting sick from Rodent feces contamination. This is most likely due to the long shipment.

Try washing the rice first then steam cook it.

Originally Posted by Borey the Bald

When in Thailand we mostly eat sticky (glutinous) rice. Haven't had a problem with that here in the US. But, because of how it is prepared (rinsed, soaked, drained and steamed), any chemical contamination would likely not remain.

Sticky rice and gluttonous rice come from two preperations.

Originally Posted by Carrabow

Not trying to ruin your parade here. From what you are describing as the illness you are getting sick from Rodent feces contamination. This is most likely due to the long shipment.

Try washing the rice first then steam cook it.

Yes, washing rice, or leaving it to soak a while before rinsing is a good idea.

I thought America had this fantastic "jazz man" rice. Or was it jazz mags. I can't remember.

Are you a doctor? How did you figure this out? You are only hypothesizing as it could be anything. Best to stay away from Thailand, you never know what they put in the rice here hahahahahahahahhaha!

I think the chances of your food poisoning coming from a particular type of rice are very low.

If it IS from the rice it is most likely due to poor storage conditions at your local shop or in your own house than anything from the rice producer or shipping process.

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Originally Posted by Carrabow

Not trying to ruin your parade here. From what you are describing as the illness you are getting sick from Rodent feces contamination. This is most likely due to the long shipment.

Try washing the rice first then steam cook it.

Mrs Borey went to the doctor, had all the testing done. No evidence of viral or bacterial infections, so not rodent feces.

Originally Posted by liveinlos

Are you a doctor? How did you figure this out? You are only hypothesizing as it could be anything. Best to stay away from Thailand, you never know what they put in the rice here hahahahahahahahhaha!

Did months of trial and error. Didn't even think of rice as a possible factor until recently. When I finally thought of that, I did several trials. Experimented on the wife (without her knowledge). Fed her identical meals with the only difference being the rice. She (and I) only became ill after eating the Thai rice. Since then, only use US rice, with neither of us being ill since the change.

I am reasonably sure I got it properly figured out.

Originally Posted by ltnt

Export rice may have been sitting in the rice shed a very long time prior to shipment. Many vermin live there as well aged by weather, people who have poor health standards as well. Most of the rice is off/on loaded by big industrial equipment which adds to the possible contamination.

I think most people are not aware of the extent that chemicals are used on unprocessed food. It is common practice for rice warehouses to be chemically fumigated in Thailand because of the various insect and animal pest. It is also a requirement that most raw foods be chemically fumigated before import into the US.

Accidental industrial contamination is certainly also a possibility, but I would guess contamination by incorrect or overuse of fumigation would be a more likely prospect.

Originally Posted by madjbs

I think the chances of your food poisoning coming from a particular type of rice are very low.

I was not thinking of food poisoning, but rather a human's inability to digest a new variety. I agree that the chances of this would be very low, but my experience with the new varieties of industrially produced corn in the US would indicate that this is possible. Recently, corn purchased in the supermarket has the taste and texture of silage from field corn meant for feeding pigs. I'm sure it is cheap to produce, but I find it indigestible.