Market monitoring has become a ritual, which largely takes place during the festive season and peters out once festivals are over Festivals have many facets. Festivals offer a perfect opportunity for holidays, get-togethers, family reunions and shopping. People revel in the festive season and indulge in binge eating. And of course, consumption of foodstuff, along with other items, picks up. But there is yet another aspect associated with festive seasons in Nepal. Just as festivals approach near, government agencies spring into action and launch what they call “massive market monitoring campaigns”. A couple of eateries here and there are sealed for “failing to maintain cleanliness in the kitchen and selling stale and unhygienic food”. Actions are initiated against some retail outlets “for fleecing customers”. Others are warned. As the festival holiday starts, these agencies go back into slumber until next year. In the run-up to Dashain-Tihar festivals, a market inspection team of the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DoFTQC) in the first week of this month sealed a sweets shop for using adulterated ingredients and harmful chemicals and for not maintaining hygiene around the production area. The outlet, according to officials, has been barred from selling its products until further notice. Then again, a couple more sweetmeat shops were sealed in Gaushala after DoFTQC officials found cockroaches in their kitchens. The government action in no way can be termed a bad move. Those who play with general public’s health by selling stale, unhygienic and adulterated foodstuff must not be spared. They are liable to actions as per the law of the land. The problem, therefore, is not with the government’s market monitoring drive, the problem is with its seasonal actions which have become nothing but a formality. To make legal provisions “to prevent any undesirable adulteration in food… and ensure proper standards of food, for the purpose of maintaining the health and convenience of the general public”, Nepal introduced its Food Act back in 1967. It was last amended in 1992. Food safety issues are governed by this Act and related regulations. But while stakeholders have raised concerns about the “old law”, which they say is largely ineffective in today’s time; the government’s weak, ineffective and unsustained initiatives also have drawn flak from various quarters. A report from Saptari says consumers are being cheated ahead of the festive season due to lack of effective market monitoring that the marketinginitiatives, which are carried out during the festivals only, have largely become a ritual. Once the festivals are over, the government agencies lose steam and market monitoring initiatives peter out. There have also been concerns about market monitoring campaigns in which officials are often said to be initiating actions against those who refuse to fork out the dough. In a country where corruption is rife in almost every sector, such allegations cannot be ruled out. It’s about time market monitoring was made more effective and sustained. Monitoring should be carried out round the year—not only during the festive seasons. There is a need to step up sustained efforts and make market monitoring more effective so as to ensure that the general public gets safe, healthy, unadulterated and hygienic foods. Food safety is everybody’s concern.