Bureau of Quality and Safety of Food is one of an important sections in the Department of Medical sciences, Ministry of Public Health, and it was established together with the Department of Medical sciences. At the beginning, the responsibility of this bureau was undertaken by the pharmaceutical division in the Department of Sciences, Ministry of Economics, which located at Pak Klong Talad, Bangkok. The laboratories at there were responsible for analyzing food products and drugs from the Customs Department in order to get benefit from inbound tax. In that time, Ph.D. Prachuap Bunnag, who graduated doctoral degree from Germany, took a position of director of the division; moreover, there were some colleagues, 3 doctors, 2-3 pharmacists, and 1 chemical scientist, who worked with him. When the Department of Medical Sciences was established with Ministry of Public Health in 1942, the pharmaceutical division was moved to be under this department and set up the chemical section which was responsible for food, milk, and water analysis. This section was also capable for analyzing the poison. In addition, there were the microbiology laboratories for disease diagnosis and food, milk, and water analysis.
1952 : The division of pharmaceutical and chemical had were dissolved, and they instituted the new division for analyzing food and beverage which still located at Pak Klong Talad. Saman Watthanaphuti, M.D., Ph.D. was the first director of the division in those time, and the responsibilities of this division were as same as the division of pharmaceutical and chemical.
1960 : The division of food and beverage analysis was moved from Pak Klong Talad to be gathered with others division at Yotse, Bam Rung Meuang Road, Maha Nak, Bangkok or Department of Medical Sciences, Yotse. It was two-storey building, and each storey consisted of three rooms, which were small-size rooms and did not have any hoods. However, The division of food and beverage analysis had extended the capability to protect the consumers by providing the analysis of food additives and food contaminants in canned foods, vitamin in foods. They also extended the food analysis service in the regional center by assigning the diagnosis sectors, which used to analyze water regarding to microbiology, to responsible for chemical analysis.
1963 – 1967 : They initially provided food analysis services for the exported foods, and it shows that Department of Medical Sciences has provided food analysis services for the exported foods for a long time period and was the first one which has taken this responsibility.
1969 – 1971 : They have performed more analysis regarding to toxic metals in foods, especially canned foods, and extended the exported food’s analysis. Moreover, they have issued the analysis and health certificate for the purpose of exportation, and also established one more unit for analyzing exported foods.
1972 – 1976 : In 1974, The division of food and beverage analysis was renamed to be the division of food analysis and redistributed the units from 4 to be 6 which were responsible for food, beverage, water, pesticide residues, toxins and food additives, and administration. They also extended the scope of work to cover both domestic and exported products.
1977 – 1981 : The division of food analysis increased the units to be 7 by adding the unit for analyzing exported foods, and they received fund to construct the 10 storeys laboratory building. At that time, their scope of work was larger. There was the development of analytical methods for foods and food contact materials. Moreover, they also studied the regulations of imported foods in other countries. The division of food analysis has published the researches to public which was risk communication, one part of the food risk assessment process that was in the limelight. Furthermore, they also provided training courses to the analysts from food industries that could improve the quality of their products to meet the standard quality, and World Health Organization (WHO) gave scholarships to the Indonesian officers for observing and training at The Division of Food Analysis.
1982 : The new 10 storeys building was completely finished. The laboratories in there had many facilities and security stuffs for the perfect and best operation in that time.
1983 : There was the establishment of 6 regional medical sciences centers which doing 4 main works, food, drug, toxicology and clinical pathology. At the initial time, there was no permanent employees, so the staffs from each sectors had to relay to do the duty every 1 month. That was the first step to extend the area of work to other provinces.
1984 : The exported food analysis was performed in regional center, and the regional medical sciences center Songkhla took responsibility for that. It was done to support the increasing of exportation of frozen seafood products from the private sectors. In that time, the Division of Food Analysis was improved its efficiency to get into the international level.
1990 : The amount of exported food analysis was increased in both central and regional centers. Therefore, for the result of fast operation, department of medical sciences raised the exported food unit to be the division, and Mrs. Pranee Srisomboon was the first director of the division. Although the division of exported food analysis was separated from the division of food analysis, they also collaborated to analyze some kind of toxin.
1997 : The division of food analysis and exported food analysis were renamed again due to the royal decree. It divided the department of medical sciences, ministry of public health into division of food and division of exported food, and they were located at the same place, which was no.693, Bam Rung Mueang Street, Ma Ha Nak, Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Bangkok
1998 : The division of food and exported food was relocated to gathering with other divisions of department of medical sciences at ministry of public health, Nonthaburi. The new office of the division of food and exported food was at the 8th building, which was an eight-storeys building. The exported food sector was at the 1st, 2nd and 3th floor, while the food sector was at the 4th, 5th and 6th floor.
2002 : There were the reformation of government system and reorganization of each government sections according to the regulations of ministry of public health. Therefore, the bureau of quality and safety of food was established on 9th October 2002 due to the government administration act, (issue 5) B.E. 2545 and reorganization of ministry, sub-ministry, and department act, B.E. 2545, which was announced in royal Thai government gazette, volumn 119, chapter 103 ก that reassembled the division of food and division of exported food. There was Mrs. Chanchai Jaengsawang being the first director and Mr. Aran Thanankat being the present directior (B.E. 2562).
