BAITADI, Oct 2: During a market monitoring conducted at various shops starting from Gokuleshwor to Darchula along the Mahakali Highway on Sunday, goods worth Rs 50,000 were found expired. Earlier, the market monitoring team seized a huge cache of expired goods from Gothapani and Shahilek Bazaar of the district headquarters.
Due to the lack of regular market inspection, shopkeepers are encouraged to sell expired and substandard goods, including food items. Especially the shops in the rural parts are found selling such products. "Some of the markets in the remote areas had kept food manufactured more than four or five years ago," said Assistant Chief District Officer (CDO) Suresh Ghimire, adding, "This is not going to end unless the consumers as well as shopkeepers are aware of their rights and are conscious about their health."
According to locals shopkeepers, retailers sell them goods which are about to expire. Food items such as flour, beaten rice, biscuits, tea, drinks, noodles, oil, spices and even cosmetic goods are sold despite being expired. Not only the small roadside markets but also big marts are found selling such products rampantly.
Expired goods sold to hilly markets
The district administration inspects markets only during Dashain and Tihar. Assistant CDO Ghimire says they have not been able to monitor the markets regularly due to the lack of manpower. "We understand that we have not been able to conduct inspection as per the need of the market and expectation of the consumers," said Ghimire, adding, "We are not in a state of deploying manpower for market inspection when we hardly have staffers for the regular administrative work."
Despite being aware that the consumers are being deceived, the district administration has not been able to take action against those who have been playing with their health. All that the district administration has been doing is warn the shopkeepers of seizing and burning the expired goods. "We leave them after a warning for the first time but take action against them if they are found selling expired goods again," said Ghimire.
Considering the high demand of food and clothes during festivals, various low quality goods and materials are imported from India. Despite the market monitoring by the authorities, the shopkeepers have not stopped selling expired goods. Reportedly, these products are supplied to the hill districts from the go-downs in tarai. Some of the products do not even have the dates of manufacture and expiry and price tags. They are so old that it is hard for the consumers even to read the name of the products or their manufacturers.
Though the monitoring teams urge the shopkeepers to return the products without labels to the dealers, they sell the same products by ignoring the request. Local entrepreneurs lament that the locals in the hill districts are compelled to consume damaged and expired goods as most of the regional monitoring units of the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control are focused on tarai only.
"People in the hill districts won't have to consume substandard goods if the authorities strictly inspected the goods supplied from the go-downs in tarai," said Khemananda Bhatta, vice-chairperson of Baitadi Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
