Dabur Nepal, an Indian joint venture in the country, was embroiled in a fresh controversy over adulteration of its popular fruit juice brand, but the company has denied the allegation.
The largest soft drink manufacturing company of the country has been embroiled in fresh controversy, days after seizure of 74,000 cartons of Real juice by Nepalese authorities over allegedly manipulation of manufacturing date.
The police raided a shop in Banepa, a town situated some 40 km east of the capital, and seized Real juice cartons that were allegedly adulterated and sent them for investigation, sources said.
However, company sources have dismissed the allegations, saying they do not have any such information.
The illness of some people could have been related to personal hygiene factors as the hospital where they have been admitted has not yet made public its final investigation report in the matter.
Dabur's Real juice has been exported to different South Asian countries, including India and Bangladesh.
The news report comes at a time when the local media has been involved in a smear campaign against the Indian joint venture and the incident has given them an opportunity to blow up the issue.
Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), a government body, on Monday raided the Real juice manufacturing unit of Dabur Nepal in Bara district of southern part of the country and sealed the juice cartons for allegedly altering the manufacturing date.
The samples from the godown had been forwarded to the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control laboratory for tests, officials said.
More than 1,000 people are employed by Dabur Nepal and over 25,000 people are indirectly dependent in it for their livelihood.