Now, ‘best before’ label on non-packaged sweets

Our Correspondent

Kapurthala, September 27

As per the directions of Kumar Rahul, Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration, Punjab, all food business operators dealing in sweets are directed to comply with the order dated September 25 of the Food Safety Standards Authority of India, which mandates display of ‘best before date’ in case of non-packaged sweets.

Assistant Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration, Kapurthala, Harjot Pal Singh, said, the order would come into force from October 1 and it mandates that in case of non-packaged, the container/ tray holding sweets at the outlets for sale should display ‘best before date’ of the product. However, in addition to this, Food Business Operator (FBO) may also display the ‘date of manufacturing’, which shall be purely voluntary and non-binding.

“The FBOs shall decide and display the ‘best before date’ of sweets depending upon the nature of the product and the local conditions such as temperature, moisture etc. An indicative list of shelf life of various types of sweets is given in the guidance note on safety of traditional milk products, which is available on the FSSAI website,” said Singh.

He said this order was issued by the nodal authority to ensure that customers at the time of purchase shall know the date by which a particular sweets item can be consumed, so as to avoid any ill-effect on their health.

He said the food wing of FDA seeks cooperation from those dealing in sweets to ensure the display of best before date, so that this order of the FSSAI issued in public health interest can be implemented in its true spirit.