Feb 26, 2020
With ongoing rule and criteria of printing manufacturing and expiry dates which applies only to packaged foods, now from 1st June 2020 will be mandatory to display these dates for un-packed or loose sweets and mithai shops at the respective display counters.
All traditional Indian sweet and mithai shops will soon be under compulsion to mention the making and expiry dates of loose and non-packaged eatables on the display counter at their outlets. The order is issued by The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), in its latest notification, with effective from June 1st.
The order comes in the wake of numerous complaints filed by the consumers with the food safety authority regarding the sale of stale, musty and expired sweets giving effects of food poisoning and other health problems.
“In public interest, and to ensure food safety, it has been decided that in the case of non-packaged/loose sweets, the container/tray holding the sweets at the outlet for sale should display ‘Date of Manufacturing’ and ‘Best Before Date’ of the product. This will be effective from June 1,2020,” said FSSAI official.
According to the existing conditions with the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011, pre-packed sweets and other food items require to print this information on the labels. Now, this standard is being made mandatory for loose and non-packed sweets too.
“The Food Business Operators shall decide and display the ‘Best Before Date’ of the sweets depending on the nature of the product and local conditions,” said the FSSAI order.
In 2019, the FSSAI had issued a guidance note for traditional mithai and sweets made from milk and listing some of them with the shelf life as milk products do not last more than two days and three days to max. For instance, FSSAI recommend the consumption of some milk-made sweets such as rasmalai, kalakand, badam milk, rasgulla, rasmalai, basundi and rajbhog, within two days of manufacture. Conversely, sweet-makers have expressed concerns over the execution of the FSSAI order.
Firoz H. Naqvi, Director, Federation of Sweets and Namkeen Manufacturers (FSNM), said the directive has come as a surprise for the industry. “Only 5-10 per cent of traditional Indian sweets are packaged and the majority of them are sold in loose form. An outlet, on an average, has as many as 200 varieties of sweets to sell, which are made from different kinds of ingredients and therefore have different duration of shelf life. While we agree with the intent of this direction and that it is in consumers’ interest, implementing this norm on the ground will be very challenging,” he said.
“We will be writing to FSSAI to inform them about these challenges and hope to work towards a more practical solution in this regard,” Naqvi added.
In the interim, the FSSAI has instructed all its State Food Safety Commissioners to ensure compliance of its latest order by all the associated food business operators.