Kathmandu, June 9

Traders have been found selling unhygienic meat to consumers in the retail market.

The special market monitoring team deployed by the Department of Supply Management and Protection of Consumer Interest (DoSMPCI) today found that some meat outlets in the Kathmandu Valley were selling rotten and other types of inedible meat products.

As per the monitoring report of DoSMPCI, Adhunik Ganga Cold Store of Lalitpur was found to be selling the meat of already dead chicken to customers. Similarly, the meat outlet was also found to be selling rotten chicken meat to

customers, not to mention selling packaged meat without labelling them properly.

Taking on-the-spot action against the cold store, the monitoring team destroyed more than 35 kilograms

of unhygienic meat and sealed the outlet.

“Compromising with consumer health is a serious crime. We have taken more meat samples from the outlet for laboratory tests,” Laxman Shrestha, director at DoSMPCI, said, adding that the government will take action against the outlet as per the Black Marketing and Some Other Social Offenses and Punishment Act, 1975.

The act has provisions to permanently shut down such businesses and slap a fine of up to Rs 10,000 for such offences.

Similarly, the government inspection team also found Devi Meat Store of Lalitpur selling date-expired packaged meat. The team destroyed all the outdated packaged meat from the outlet, but decided to let the owner off the hook with a stern warning.

DoSMPCI had monitored 27 different business firms in the Kathmandu Valley today as a part of its week-long intensive market monitoring, which began on Monday.