Govt files cases against 49 firms for selling substandard products

KATHMANDU, April 8:

The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DoFTQC) has filed cases against 49 firms that were found supplying substandard products in the market.

Most of the firms are based in the Kathmandu Valley while a few are from Kavre.

Issuing progress report of the first eight months of the current fiscal year here on Monday, officials of DoFTQC said the cases have been filed in the respective District Administration Offices (DAOs). The department filed the cases after lab test of samples collected from market showed those firms were not meeting the standards set by the government. Most of those firms deal on dairy products, bottled waters and snacks.

The department has filed cases against state-owned dairy producer Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) as well as private dairies like Sitaram Gokul Milks, Nepal Dairy and Kathmandu Dairy.

“Samples of packaged milk and dairy products collected from these dairies failed to meet the prescribed standards,” Jiwan Praba Lama, director general at DoFTQC, told Republica. Problems were found in packaging and labeling of products as well as SNF and Fat percentage.

Similarly, many firms were founds selling bottled water without production information. Some samples were unhygienic, according to Pramod Koirala, spokesperson of DoFTQC. “Milk and water are among the most consumed commodities. Substandard milk and water can make serious impact on consumers’ health,” said Koirala.

The department has filed cases against water bottling plants like Aqua Pacific Beverage, City Mineral Water and Beverage, Prachi Spring Water, and Duwa Food Product and Beverage, among others.
If found guilty, owners of these firms can be slapped fine of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000, and jail term of 1-2 years or both.
Meanwhile, the department conducted monitoring for as many as 894 times and collected 2,020 samples for necessary tests in the eight-month period.

Lama said the department has been failing to make market monitoring effective because of the lack of sufficient manpower. “We have only 40 food inspectors across the country. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to reach everywhere in the market and stop anomalies,” Lama added.

The department has appointed four more communication officers to ensure smooth flow of information to media and the public.

Source: Republica