The Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has made the display of a ‘Use by Date’ mandatory on loose sweets stored and displayed for sale across the state, in a move aimed at improving food safety and consumer information ahead of the festive season.
The new requirement will come into effect from October 15, with sweet shops and retailers required to comply with the directive.
The measure is particularly significant for loose or open sweets, which had largely remained outside the requirement to provide expiry or ‘Use by Date’ information. While packaged sweets are already required to carry such information under existing food-safety norms, there was no clear mandatory provision for similar disclosure on sweets sold loose at retail counters.
According to officials, inspections conducted by the FSDA at sweet manufacturing and retail outlets found that consumers were often not provided clear information about the date of manufacture or the period within which the sweets should be consumed.
The absence of such information can make it difficult for consumers to assess the freshness and remaining shelf life of sweets, particularly during the festive season when sales increase sharply.
An order issued by Dr Roshan Jacob, Commissioner, Food Safety and Drug Administration Department, noted that the shelf life of sweets varies depending on their type and ingredients.
According to the department, the shelf life can range from one day to 30 days. Factors such as the ingredients used, weather conditions and storage conditions can affect the quality, taste and freshness of sweets over time.
The department said displaying the ‘Use by Date’ would give consumers clearer information about the appropriate period for consuming the product and enable them to make more informed purchasing decisions.
The new requirement is expected to have particular relevance for milk-based and other perishable sweets, whose shelf life can be considerably shorter than that of products with lower moisture content.
The directive comes ahead of the 2026 festive season, when demand for mithai rises substantially across Uttar Pradesh. With large quantities of sweets produced and sold through both organised and traditional retail channels, the department’s move is aimed at bringing greater transparency to the trade.
Alongside the new requirement for sweets, the Uttar Pradesh food safety authorities have also taken action concerning the use of coolants in milk and milk-product processing units.
The department has banned the use of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol in milk processing facilities after inspections found that some establishments were using the chemicals as coolants during pasteurization and refrigeration.
The concern relates to the possibility of these chemicals entering milk or milk products if leakage occurs from processing equipment.
Ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol can pose serious health risks if they contaminate food products. The state has therefore prohibited their use in milk and milk-product processing operations.
The department has indicated that propylene glycol can be used as an alternative coolant and is already being used by a number of milk processing units.
The two measures form part of a wider effort by Uttar Pradesh authorities to strengthen food-safety enforcement and improve information available to consumers.
For the sweets sector, the mandatory ‘Use by Date’ requirement represents a significant change because loose sweets are traditionally sold without the type of date information routinely found on packaged products.
The move also places greater responsibility on manufacturers and retailers to determine and display an appropriate consumption date based on the nature of the product and its expected shelf life.
For consumers, the stated objective is to provide clearer information at the point of purchase, particularly when buying perishable sweets during periods of high demand.
With the festive season approaching, sweet manufacturers, retailers and milk-based food businesses in Uttar Pradesh will now need to prepare for the new compliance requirements before the October 15 deadline.