Sweets Shop Guidelines: 'Best Before' Date On Loose Sweets Mandatory From Today

Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: Food business operators especially those selling sweets will have to sell their produce with adherence to a new guideline from today as enforced by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.

Food regulator FSSAI has made it mandatory for confectioners to display ''best before date'' of non-packaged sweets with effect from today as part of its efforts to ensure food safety.

In a letter to the commissioner of food safety of all states and Union Territories, FSSAI recently noted that "...in the public interest and to ensure food safety, it has been decided that in case of non-packaged/ loose sweets, the container/tray holding sweets at the outlet for sale should display the 'Best Before Date' of the product mandatorily with effect from October 1, 2020."

As part of the new directive, confectioners have been given the liberty to decide and display the best-before date of sweets depending upon the nature of the product and the local conditions.

An indicative list of shelf life of various types of sweets is available on the FSSAI website. All food business operators (FBOs) dealing in sweets must comply with these directions, the FSSAI said, adding that food safety commissioners should ensure compliance.

The letter by the FSSAI, however, noted that the FBOs might also display the date of manufacturing on the product, but 'it is not mandatory, however'.

The food regulator said that the decision was based on various complaints about the quality and adulteration of sweets, mostly during the festive season.

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