The decision from the humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide came as the rice in a sample test conducted by the government failed to meet set standard.
A sample test of rice distributed to victims of Kavre district in the name of WFP by the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DoFTQC) — the government body responsible for testing quality of food items — showed use of high volume of broken rice. “Though the accepted limit of broken rice is 25 percent, our test showed use of up to 32 percent of broken rice in the ‘Sarju’ brand sample collected from Kavre,” Sanjeev Kumar Karn, director general of DoFTQC told Republica, adding, “We have suspended distribution of “Sarju” brand rice in the affected areas as it failed to meet the set standard.”
Karn, however clarified that the rice is not inedible. “The problem with rice is not in quality—they are edible, but failed to meet our standard,” he added.
According to him, distribution of 145 sacks of rice, each weighing 25 kg, was restricted. “Following the test report, we urged WFP to recall them from the market,” said Karn. WFP officials said they recalled the rice immediately after the sample test by Nepali government and WFP.
Don’t throw that rice water away, use it like this!
Informing that the problem with rice was not in quality, Zoie Jones, communication officer of WFP, who is currently deployed in Nepal, said “WFP investigated recent claims about rice in Kavre district and found no evidence that rice distributed was inedible. However, we have directed the local supplier of the rice to replace them all after limited volume of rice failed to meet the standard.”
The National Human Right Commission (NHRC) on Thursday had urged quake victims in Kavre not to consume rice distributed by WFP terming it ‘unfit’ for consumption.
“The test showed there is no problem with the quality. However, we are no longer using this local supplier as the supplier’s rice failed to meet the standard,” she added.
Talking to Republica, Jones said they had sampled 10 percent of rice being distributed by the supplier, an international practice.
Meanwhile, Jones also informed that WFP only purchases food from accredited suppliers to distribute to the needy people across the world.
“We have already distributed food items to almost 1.7 million earthquake victims in Nepal and aim to reach to 1.9 million people by Monday,” WFP communication officer Jones said, adding “WFP is always serious about food safety of consumers. Samples of all food purchased by WFP is tested for quality and safety by the CQS, which is an independent third party. This testing ensures that the food we provide meets international standards for quality and safety.”
