The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) filed cases against 224 firms selling substandard food items from across the country in the last fiscal year.

The department launched action against them after the products that these firms sold were found to be unsafe for consumption posing risk to people’s health.

Of the firms grilled by the department, 60 were found selling contaminated food items. 123 firms were charged for selling sub-standard products while the remaining stores failed to maintain proper labeling.

Most of the firms that fell under the department’s scrutiny were related to the sale of bottled water. According to the department, it filed cases against 41 bottled water suppliers after the products they sold were found contaminated with harmful bacteria. Similarly, 38 firms related with edible oil and 16 dairies also faced action from the regulator.

The department’s Spokesperson Purnachandra Wasti said the department filed cases against these firms at the concerned District Administration Office.

Over the period, the department collected a total of 2,813 specimens of food items on suspicion of being unhygienic. Of the lab test reports on 2,485 specimens that the department has obtained so far, 354 (14.2 percent) were found not abiding to food standards maintained by the law.

Of the tested specimens, 101 in dairy products, 69 in pulse, 66 edible oils and ghee and 32 animal foods failed to meet government set standards. During the review period, the department received complaints against 44 firms.

The department provided stickers to 112 hotels and restaurants. Based on the grading of the food quality that these eateries sold, 10 were marked excellent, 23 were labeled good, 44 were in satisfactory while 35 were marked in general type.

Over the period, the department provided licences to 597 new firms for conducting edibles businesses. The department received international accreditation to certify 21 food products under 80 different parameters. “To regulate the food business, the department has targeted to enforce the policy on food hygiene in the current fiscal year,” Wasti said.