Weeks after the April 25 Great Earthquake, the National Human Rights Commission was the first to report that the UN agency was distributing rotten food to the people displaced by earthquakes. It had asked the government to take prompt action. The WFP had been defending its action saying that it was ready to replace if any food distributed was found substandard.

The WFP destroyed the rice after lab results from the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) confirmed that it was unfit for consumption, the WFP said in a statement. After finding substandard food “ready for distribution”, a Parliamentary Committee had also instructed the government to take action and stop the distribution. “In line with WFP procedures, the operation of destroying the food will be implemented under the supervision of district authorities and quality control inspectors of the government of Nepal,” said WFP Country Director Pippa Bradford.

The WFP team buried 120 sacks (7.83 metric tonnes) of rotten rice stored in a WFP warehouse in Deurali VDC, Gorkha. The rice was buried in a pit in the presence of an inspector from the regional DFTQC office and representatives from the District Administration Office and the Nepal Red Cross Society.

Media persons, however, were barred from the premises while the rotten rice was destroyed.

(With inputs from Sudip Kaini in Gorkha)