KATHMANDU: The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control has filed cases against 263 different companies so far this fiscal for not adhering to quality standards that the Food Act, 1967 has set. Pramod Koirala, a senior food research officer at DFTQC, said the department has filed cases against the companies across the country, especially in the Kathmandu Valley, at district administration offices concerned. The Food Act has provided quasi-judicial rights to the chief district officer to hear cases related to food adulteration and black marketing. The food and beverage companies, suppliers, importers, wholesalers and retailers have been put on trial for producing and selling substandard, adulterated and unhygienic foods and beverages, including bottled water, pouched milk, edible oils, besan (gram flour), ghee, spices and confectionery items. During monitoring, food inspectors found high or low pH and coliform bacteria in the bottled water, low fat and low SNF (Solid Not Fat) in milk, coliform bacteria in butter samples, and low presence of milk solids in yogurt. They had collected 2,284 samples of foods and beverages from hotels, eateries, restaurants and sweet shops, both in urban areas and along national highways. The DFTQC has categorised 259 highway eateries and restaurants into High Quality (15), Medium Quality (179) and Low Quality (65) based on the quality of foods they were serving to consumers. The government awards green sticker to high quality, yellow with single red band to medium quality and yellow with two red bands to low quality restaurants. Anyone found guilty under the Food Act faces a fine of upto Rs 10,000 or two-year jail or both.