Kathmandu, October 18 The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DoFTQC) has warned eateries serving low quality food along highways to clean up their act or face the music. After the eateries along highways were found to be not following the directions of DoFTQC, it has issued a notice today warning them to improve their standards, failing which the government will take action against them. As per Matina Joshi Vaidya, director general of DoFTQC, eateries along highways were inspected before Dashain festival and were directed to improve their services. “Though some eateries have heeded our direction, others have ignored it. So, we are gearing up to conduct another inspection. Today’s notice aims to give them a chance to make the necessary changes,” she said, adding that the inspection team will revisit the eateries next week. She further said that the department would ideally strive for the service providers to improve their service rather than inspecting and taking action against them. Before Dashain, a team lead by DoFTQC Inspection Officer Ishwar Subedi had inspected 80 eateries of Mugling and Malekhu. “During the inspection, we had sealed one eatery while others had been directed to improve their service and quality of food being served,” he said. “However, most of the eateries have ignored our direction, so the department has warned them that action will be taken against them if they continue to ignore our instructions.” During the inspection, the DoFTQC team along with the district administration officer of the respective areas had conducted orientation, workshops and training classes related to food safety, he said. “During the festive season highways remain busy with vehicles ferrying passengers to their hometowns and back to Kathmandu. In this rush eateries are serving substandard food to passengers. Our objective is to maintain food safety along the highways,” he added. Subedi further said that after compiling the reports of inspection, the department will take needful action after the Tihar festival. Along with DoFTQC, Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection, Department of Livestock Development, Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology and other concerned authorities are conducting regular marketing monitoring this festive season.