Current situation, challenges and ways to promote food safety in Nepal

1. Ways To Promote Food Safety in Nepal
Tulsi Ram Khanal
Chief Executive Officer
Food Industry Consulting Services, Nepal
Website: ​www.foodindustryconsulting.com
Abstract
Food Safety is a concept that food will not cause harm to
consumers when it is prepared and or eaten according to its
intended use. Current situation of food safety as observed by
regulatory Authorities is found very poor, though there is no any
system to record the incidents of food borne illness. Promotion of
food safety is essential to reduce the risk of food borne disease,
hence growth and development of tourism and food industries.
Major challenge for the promotion of food safety is the awareness
on food safety; its importance and system required for food safety
at different levels; government, organizations in the food chain
and consumers. Awareness of food safety at different levels,
policy, programs for the promotion of food safety, allocation of
sufficient systems to monitor and control organizations in the food
chain, revision, updating food acts and regulation are the ways to
promote food safety in Nepal.
Keywords: Food borne illness, awareness, organizations in the
food chain, consumers, food acts and regulation

2. 1.​ ​Introduction
Food is the basic need of our life. Sufficient and safe food is
essential for the normal health, growth of our body. Food can be
the source of hazardous substances (physical, chemical,
biological) rendering it unsafe causing illness and even death.
Thus effort must be made to make food safe. Good practices are
needed to implement from primary production to consumer (farm
to fork) to make food safe (free from hazardous substances or at
safe level). Thus, food safety is the effort of all people involved in
the food chain.
There is the huge potential of growth and development of food
industries in Nepal by increasing the sale of different food
products in domestic and international markets. And the basic
requirement is the assurance of food safety by the food industries.
Food safety is one of the important tools to attract tourists to
lengthen their trips, for their repeated visits and encouragement or
advertisement by them to their friends for the visit.
As the current situation of food safety is not good enough,
promotion of food safety is essential to reduce the risk of food
borne diseases. This will help to promote growth and
development of tourism and food industries, ultimately economic
development of the country. For the promotion of food safety,
ways needed should be identified and taken and to identify the
ways, the current situation, problems, challenges must be clearly
understood. This paper focuses on all these aspects and
suggests the possible ways for the promotion of food safety.

3. 2.​ ​Current situation
There is no system to record and analyze the impact of food
borne illness in the country. Few incidents of food borne illness as
presented by the media are wild mushroom poisoning, methanol
poisoning and food poisoning in some cultural feasts in rural
areas. As data on the impact of food borne illness are not
recorded, promotion of food safety is getting less priority by
government and the entrepreneurs.
Due to scarcity of food in remote areas, people, government and
all concerned focus on availability and food safety gets less
priority. Consumers of even urban areas focus on the price of the
product and take less care on quality and food safety. In case of
food service operations due to different reasons, hygienic foods
are not available at most of the outlets and consumers are not
getting much option, so compelled to consume from such outlets.
As people involved in the primary production are not aware
regarding the Good Agricultural Practices and Good Veterinary
Practices, there is the risk of use of banned pesticides and use of
higher dosage of pesticides than the permitted level during
farming agricultural produce. Harvesting fresh produce within the
short period of pesticide spray can cause the risk of residues of
pesticides more than the permitted level. Similar is the situation
on use of antibiotics on livestock thus creating the risk of residues
more than the permitted level.
Most of the small scale processors have not taken license for the
production of food products. They are not in the range of

4. monitoring and control by the government. Most of the processors
are not aware about the good practices. There is the practice of
use of high dosage of preservatives to increase shelf life of their
product, less care is taken to maintain hygiene and sanitation up
to the level.
Practices even at medium and large scale food processors are
not upto the level. Hygiene and sanitation are not found good
enough as monitored by regulatory authorities. Few food products
like pasteurized milk are found unsafe according to its intended
use as observed by the Department of Food Technology and
Quality Control. Small number of industries have implemented
and certified ISO 22000:2005 which includes Dairy, distillery,
Instant Noodles, tea industries. Most of the organizations certified
with ISO 22000:2005 are not implementing it genuinely. Their
intention is to maintain a certificate and use it for advertisement.
3.​ ​Challenges
There are many challenges, problems at different levels;
Consumers, organizations in the food chain and the government
which must be addressed to promote food safety.
3.1. Consumers
Consumers are not aware about food safety; its importance,
hazardous effect of unsafe food. Thus, much care is not taken to
select and consume safe food, attracted by advertisement,
appearance, taste, flavor of the product. Hence, food industries,
food service operations and other organizations in the food chain
focus on consumers preference and less effort is applied on food

5. safety as it will not assure an increase of their sale. Another
challenge for consumers is their purchasing capacity. As
purchasing capacity is low, they are attracted by low price
products and the manufacturer compromise on food safety to
lower the price of their products.
3.2. Organizations in the food chain
Though, most of the organizations in the food chain are aware of
food safety; its importance at some level, they are not sure about
it and stick on traditional practices which they think easier and
less costly. Most of the organizations do not have volume
production, thus improvement of their system may increase their
cost of production and sales price and cannot compete with their
competitor’s product (imported products).
As most of the entrepreneurs do not invest for the expertise,
machines having good designs and materials before
establishment and expansion of the food industry, it becomes
difficult for them to maintain hygiene and sanitation. Similarly, it is
difficult to maintain hygiene and sanitation as entrepreneurs do
not recruit suitable manpower and do not train them regarding
Good Manufacturing Practices and Good Hygiene Practices.
Lack of safe ingredients at reasonable price, commitment from
top management, and level of awareness, attitude and motivation
of employees to implement the system needed to maintain food
safety are the other challenges at this level.

6. 3.3. Government
Government does not have sufficient infrastructure and human
resources to monitor and control food safety in all over the
country. Food acts and regulations are not revised and updated
since it was started. Efforts made by the concerned departments
to revise and update acts and regulations are not known. Due to
political instability, it is difficult to revise and update it. Current
acts and regulations are not much clear on food safety issues.
Standard of food products (most of the products) does not cover
food safety issues.
Most of the law makers and persons from concerned ministries
are not aware of the importance of food safety. Concerned
department seems unable to approach and convince them to
revise and update acts and regulations, set policy for promotion of
food safety, initiate programs to encourage the entrepreneurs to
implement food safety management systems. Guidance, support
and monitoring on the agriculture sector by the ministry of
agriculture and its system seems insufficient to implement GAP,
GVP.
3.4. Others
Experts for planning and design of establishments specific to food
plants and food service operations are not available or costly.
Activities in the field of promotion of food safety by non
government organizations seem insufficient.
Research, studies on the current status of food safety is
insufficient. Non government organizations of Nepal seem unable

7. to design large projects and get funds and other support from
foreign countries. We are unable to grasp global opportunities.
4.​ ​Ways
Ways to promote food safety in Nepal is to overcome the
challenges and problems described above. Those are explained
as below:
4.1. Promotion of Awareness on Food Safety
Consumers should be made aware of the risk associated with the
consumption of unsafe food, selection of safe food. Awareness
campaigns at schools, colleges, inclusion of food safety in school,
college courses, and announcements from the media are the
ways to promote awareness level of consumers. Demand,
selection and consumption of safe food from consumers enforce
organizations in the food chain to assure food safety. Awareness
on food safety; its importance and implementation of food safety
management systems to entrepreneurs and employees by
different ways; training, workshops is the most important way for
promotion of food safety. Awareness of law makers and the
government officials by different ways; interaction programs will
make it easy to revise and update current food act and regulation,
approve programs to promote food safety.
4.2. Allocation of sufficient system for monitoring
Infrastructure and human resources of the Department of Food
Technology and Quality Control is not sufficient to monitor and
control all food industries and food service operations.

8. Infrastructure and human resources needed must be analyzed,
identified and demanded from the government by the current
department.
4.3. Strict Implementation of current acts and regulations
Current system to guide, support and monitor primary production
by the ministry of agriculture seems almost sufficient but most of
the primary producers are not aware of Good Agricultural
Practices and Good Veterinary Practices. There is the risk of food
safety hazards on fresh produce. Effort from the current system
must be made sufficient to make aware the Primary Producers on
Good Agricultural Practices and Good Veterinary Practices.
Monitoring from DFTQC seems less strict for the improvement of
the systems of food industries and food service operations to
assure food safety. It is suggested that a short period should be
provided to food industries and food service operations for the
improvement and it should be verified.
4.4. Licensing and License Renewal
There is not the practice of demanding sufficient systems
(infrastructure, human resources) needed to assure food safety
by the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control with
the Entrepreneur before issuing license or renewal of license. It
can be one of the ways to establish or improve sufficient systems
to assure food safety by the food industries and food service
operations.
4.5. Revision and updating of current food act and regulation

9. Current Food act and regulation is not clear and sufficient to
address food safety. It must be revised and updated to make it
clear and sufficient to address food safety.
4.6. Policy, Programs from government
Policy programs to promote food safety must be developed and
implemented by the government. These programs can be
developed with the technical and financial support from INGOs
and developed countries. Few of these programs are suggested
below:
● Awareness campaigns at different levels
● Inclusion of food safety in courses of different levels of
studies
● Guidance, support encouragement to organizations in the
food chain to implement food safety management systems
● Development of model organizations
● Subsidies to the organization implementing Food Safety
Management System
● Prizes for the organizations having the best system to
assure food safety.
4.7. Support from developed countries
Since developed countries have the experience of promotion of
food safety, have strong financial conditions, they can support us
by technical and financial assistance. Since, food safety is a
global issue, promotion of food safety in Nepal is essential for
them to assure health of their citizens travelling to Nepal.
4.8. Activities from related organizations

10. Different organizations related to agriculture, food and public
health can enhance their effort for the promotion of food safety. It
will be beneficial if more research, studies are conducted on food
safety by different related organizations, eg., NAARC. Initiation of
recording and analyzing impact of food borne illness by
concerned organizations, eg., Public health can be equally
beneficial for the promotion of food safety.
4.9. Efforts/Determination from organization in the food chain
Without efforts and determinations of organization in the food
chain, it is almost impossible to promote food safety. So, it is the
first requirement for the promotion of food safety.
4.10. Development of Expertise/consultancies
Support from experts and consultants are essential to develop
systems or improve current systems to assure food safety. So,
experts and consultants must develop their expertise to support
all sectors of organization in the food chain to establish or
improve the current system. It will be encouraging if there charges
are affordable for the organizations in the food chain
4.11. Food Analysis Laboratory
Accredited and affordable food analysis laboratories are essential
to identify safe food ingredients and food products, thus analyzing
the status of food safety and support organizations in the food
chain.
4.12. Activities from non government organizations and
individuals

11. Activities of non government organizations and the individuals
involved in promotion of food safety will also help to some extent,
mainly on awareness and raising voices for food safety.
5.​ ​Concluding Remarks
Food security without food safety has no meaning. So, equal
emphasis must be given for food safety by the government and all
concerned. Efforts are needed from all the concerned for the
promotion of food safety. It is our duty to raise our hands and
voices for the promotion of food safety in Nepal. Promotion of
food safety will help to decrease risk of food borne illness, thus
growth and development of food industries and tourism. Ways
discussed above can be input for this mission.