Many shops and eateries in the district, however, are taking it as an opportunity to make hefty profits by selling beverages that are well past their expiration date.
Market monitoring teams of District Administration Office (DAO) have found many traders in marketplaces of the district headquarters, Dadeldhura, selling substandard drinks, according to assistant Chief District Officer (CDO), Karunakar Awasthi.The team also monitored areas nearby the district headquarters, including Shauley, Bhatkada, Pokhara, Anarkhoki, among others, informed Assistant CDO Awasthi.
According to him, many retail shops and hotels were selling a wide variety of packaged fruit juices and soft drinks well past their expiration dare.
"The team had mostly focused on monitoring VDCs as sale of date-expired drinks was mostly reported from there," said Rajendra Joshi, a local social worker.
According to Joshi, traders in VDCs are not much educated. "They can be easily fooled by sly distributors into buying date-expired drinks. Whether date-expired or not, retailers in the villages will buy any kind of product if it's provided at a discounted rate," he said.
Assistant CDO Awasthi said that the monitoring was conducted in 54 different retail stores, including fruit vendors, meat shops, and eateries, among others. The team also found other adulterated food items, such as biscuits and others packaged foods.
Most of the locals in remote villages are illiterate and are not aware about the importance of checking expiry date of products before consuming it, exposing them to various health risks.
Related story
Retail stores found selling date-expired drinks
