Director General of the DFTQC Jiwan Prabha Lama told the Post that such canteens are often found to have compromised on hygiene as they do not follow proper methods of storage, cooking of food items and disposal of wastes.

Lama made this revelation two days after the department raided a canteen operated at the Constituent Assembly (CA) Secretariat in Singha Durbar for serving stalled food items to its regular customers, including  former prime ministers, ministers.

Following the raid, staff of the CA Secretariat padlocked the establishment saying that Jaysuman Janashakti Sewa Pvt Ltd—the company that manages the canteen—had ignored their repeated complaints and warnings.

“Acting on the complaints from the customers, including many lawmakers, we requested the DFTQC to raid the canteen and test the samples of the food items it serves,” said Mukunda Sharma, spokesperson for the CA Secretariat. “Once we get the test report, we will decide on the next course of action.”

While there had been complaints about the poor quality of food items served at the canteen in the past, this is the first instance where the secretariat has picked up the issue seriously. “We had directed the canteen operators to improve the quality of their food items at least on four occasions in the past, but to no avail,” Sharma said.

It may take 3-4 days before the DFTQC comes out with a final report, but preliminary test results suggest the quality of food served at the canteen as “disheartening”.

“Our inspectors found out the meat items served at the canteen were at least a few days old as they smelled bad. The cateen’s kitchen looked very dirty and the canteen staffers too seem untrained. No wonder, food served there poses a serious health risk to the consumers,” she said.        

As a standard procedure, Lama said, the canteen owners have been directed to improve overall sanitation at the canteen including the quality of food on its menu within three-days. “Failure to improve food quality and overall cleanliness will result in the canteen’s closure.