Thailand launches robotic food taster

LONDON — In the culinary crusade against the spread of bad Thai food abroad, Thailand has recently unveiled a robotic food taster to measure quality of national cuisine.

For aficionados of Thailand’s spicy national cuisine, the offerings at Thai restaurants outside the Asian kingdom often come across as bland and neutered. But the government in Bangkok has launched a culinary crusade against poor Thai food led by a robotic food taster that will issue a seal of culinary approval for true green chicken curry or tom yam kung (the spicy lemongrass-infused prawn soup).

Rather than relying on human taste buds, the so-called “e-delicious” machine will test food dishes for the chemical composition of their ingredients with sensors and micro-chips. The results will then be compared with the chemical make-up, already programmed into the machine, of those particular specialities already approved as excellent by humans.

Development of the device was overseen by the Thai Delicious Committee, a government-funded programme. There are proposals for the machines to be sent to embassies in countries where Thai restaurants are popular, so that a grading system can be issued for individual establishments.

“We wanted the cheapest and easiest approach to measure food,” Siripat Pratontep, a British-trained nanotechnology expert who led the development, told The New York Times. “You just put in the food and get a rating.”

In a country where the best food is often cooked at simple street-side food stands, turning to a computer as the ultimate arbiter for gastronomic excellence is anathema to many. The mission to improve Thai food abroad was started by former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra. But there is also a hint of food nationalism in the mix in a country that does not believe with some justification that non-Thais can really conjure up great Thai food.

“There are many Thai restaurants owned around the world that are not owned by Thai people,” lamented Supachai Lorlowhakarn, a government adviser. “They are owned by (people from) Vietnam or Myanmar. Or maybe event Italian or French.” THE DAILY TELEGRAPH