Traditional preserved foods in Thailand and their significance for nutrition intervention: A preliminary assessment

This report presents a survey on traditional food preservation practices in rural Thailand. The sample comprises forty‐seven villages located in the rural areas of the Northern, Southern and Northeastern Regions of Thailand. It analyses the role and importance of food preservation within the socio‐cultural context of each region and assesses its potential for village‐level alleviation of seasonal malnutrition.

A wide variety of foods are processed and preserved in the rural communities of Thailand, and, although substantial differences exist between the regions, the motivation and principles behind food preservation are similar. Food preservation is not undertaken for reasons of survival or in order to ensure a food supply in periods of scarcity. Food is preserved mainly over short periods of time and in situations of relative abundance as a means of protection from immediate spoilage or simply to provide variation in the basic diet. However, it is concluded that food preservation as a home activity is gradually disappearing, setting the stage for a more commercial scale of cottage industries.

Keywords:

• Food preservation
• rural Thailand
• indigenous food
• nutrition intervention