KATHMANDU, Nov 8: The Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection has slapped one- year imprisonment and fine on those involved in relabeling expired food items. 

According to the Department, action has been taken against the guilty as they were arrested red- handed while resupplying the food stuffs to the market after relabeling the expired food collecting them from the market. The Department had carried out market monitoring on October 1. 

Information officer of the Department, Rabindra Acharya said that one-year jail term and Rs 300,000 fine has been slapped against each owner of the two companies.  

Action has been taken against Ronak Bothra of Rajasthan of India, owner of Ayan Distributors and Shankar Bayalkoti of Dhading, owner of Bishnu Laxmi Distributors. 

According to Acharya, the licenses of the companies have been scrapped for two years.  Similarly, a fine of Rs 312,000 has been slapped against seven people of Ayan Distributors—Pushpa Devi Agrawal, Munna Thakur, Pappu Kumar Thakur, Shyam Prasad Singh, Ram Bahadur Bayalkoti and Bikram Prasad Gupta each. 

According to the Department, the expired foodstuffs worth around Rs 29.4 million seized by the Department in course of monitoring would be destroyed in the presence of locals, police and people’s representatives.

 
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