WFP clarifies its position on inedible food
WFP clarifies its position on āinedibleā food
Published: 07:51 am Jul 17, 2015
KATHMANDU, July 16 The World Food Programme has claimed that it never distributed inedible and substandard food to earthquake victims in Nepal. In a reply to a parliamentary sub-committeeās report, the UN food agency stated that some pulses and rice procured through local suppliers turned out to be low quality, but 'they were not not distributed to quake victims'. The WFP responded on the panelās report through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday. Attaching the House panelās report, MoFA had asked the WFP to clarify on the matter. According to Acting Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi, the WFP, in its response, has stated that inedible rice found in Kavre and Gorkha as well as substandard pulses found in Nepalgunj were segregated for the replacement. āThe WFP has also mentioned that action has been taken against at least one contractor that had supplied the items,ā Biaragi told THT. Nevertheless, the parliamentary sub-panel under the National Disaster Management Monitoring and Direction Special Committee, based on its field visits in various godowns of the WFP, had concluded that rice and pulses procured and even distributed by the WFP in certain quake-hit districts, including Kavre and Gorkha, were āunfit for human consumptionā. Test conducted by Nepalās Food Technology and Quality Control Department had also found some rice distributed by WFP in Kavre and pulses kept at WFP warehouse in Nepalgunj inedible.