
Through its Order dated 25 September 2020 FSSAI has issued directions regarding display of “Date of Manufacturing” and “Best Before Date” in case of sweets. Through an order dated 24 February 2020, the FSSAI had issued directions regarding the display of “Date of Manufacturing” and “Best before Date” for non-packaged/sweets sold loose by sweet sellers.
Now in suppression of their order of 24 February 2020, the FSSAI has made it mandatory that in case of non-packaged/loose sweets, the containers/trays holding sweets at the outlet for sale should display “Best before Date” of these products with effect from 1 October 2020. In addition, the FSSAI has also stated that the FBO may also display the ‘Date of Manufacturing” which is purely voluntary and non-binding.
The FSSAI has based this decision on public interest and to ensure food safety. As the festive seasoning is approaching the food regulator wants to ensure the quality of sweets so consumers are safe from any kind of health hazards from contaminated or adulterated sweets sold loose by various sweet sellers.
The display of ‘Best Before Date’ of the sweets shall be decided by the FBO depending on the nature of the products they are selling loose and the local conditions. FSSAI has also provided an indicative list of shelf life of various types of sweets in their Guidance Note on Safety of Tradition Milk Products which is available on the FSSAI website through the link https://fssai.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/Guidance_Note_Milk_Products_24_02_2020.pdf The shelf life of various sweets can also be assessed at http://foodsafetyhelpline.com/fssai-directions-about-labelling-requirements-for-sweets/. The indicative shelf life given in the FSSAI Guidance Note can be anywhere from same day, two days, one week and to 30 days for various types of sweets.
The FSSAI has directed all FBOs dealing in sweets to comply with this direction and the Commissioners of Food Safety of all States and UTs shall ensure the compliance of these directions.
Packaged food products display best before and manufacturing dates to inform consumers that the products are safe to eat. With the mandatory ‘Best Before Date’ on loose and non-packaged traditional sweets, consumers will be able to make an informative choice about the sweets they are buying,
Source : FSSAI
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