Names should either be in English or Nepali

Kathmandu, April 24:

Government is all set to make a name label for the imported drugs and food items mandatory. The label must be in either English or Nepali language and easily understandable by consumers.

The government’s latest move came in response to the increasing misuse of food items and medicines with labels written in other than above-mentioned two languages.

The ministry of industry, commerce and supplies (MoICS) recently published a notice in the gazette stating that food items and drugs without name label in either English or Nepali would not be allowed to import into Nepal. MoICS took this decision in the recommendation of the Department of Commerce (DoC) and various other consumer rights organisations.

“The decision has already been published in the gazette and would be enforced soon,” said Prem Kumar Rai, director general at DoC. He further said that the department would notify all the customs offices within a week to act accordingly the new provision.

Rai also informed that the new provision will be strictly enforced in food items (packet or can) and drugs in the beginning, as these are sensitive to human health. “The imported food items and drugs with labels in foreign languages (other than English or Nepali) have caused serious problems in the past. The new provision is expected to eradicate such problems, avoiding any health hazards,” he said.

According to sources at the department of customs, the packaged or canned food constitutes 60 per cent Nepal’s total import of food items. Such imports from China, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and Saudi Arabia have been found with labels in their languages.

Rai further added that the Nepali consumers have often been cheated because of labels in other languages. Such labels must contain date and place of manufacture, expiry date, retail price and ingredients. “The label must be easily understandable and clearly visible,” he said.

As per the new provision, the imports of food items or drugs must have name label in English or Nepali with the name and address of the manufacturer, name and type of product, date of manufacture and expiry. Likewise, the label must include the usage of product, whether it is for human being or animal.

If it is a drug, composition and ingredients must be clearly stated in the label. The importer or authorised distributor of the imports must submit its address and area of sales in Nepal at the customs points, while the importing food items or drugs.

Moreover, such products should have a retail price inclusive of all taxes before it goes to the market.

The minimum duration left for consumption for such imports has been fixed at six months from the date of import into Nepal. The new provision enables us to monitor the market and trace the importers and products, said Rai.