Kathmandu, Jan. 21 -- Nepal's quality watchdog has widened its investigation into contaminated food amid growing indications that toxic substances have entered food products sold in the market.

With the March election campaign in full swing, consumer rights activists warn that markets could be flooded with substandard goods as producers take advantage of lax monitoring during the politically busy period.

In the last fiscal year, the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control collected 3,394 food samples, of which 173 were found to be unfit for human consumption. During the same period, the department filed cases against 183 food and feed firms in various district courts and administrative offices.

Within the past month alone, th...