UP Makes 'Use-By Date' Info Mandatory For Loose Sweets From Oct 15

Hardoi: The Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration Department has mandated that a "Use-by Date" be displayed on all unpackaged sweets kept and offered for sale across the state.Starting October 15, the measure is particularly crucial for loose sweets, for which there had previously been no mandatory requirement to display an expiry or "Use by Date"."For the loose sweets, the 'use-by' date should be mentioned, which was not being mentioned earlier. In this regard, we are informing all the sweet shops about it and training them. Very soon, this will be implemented at all places," Kumar Gunjan, Commissioner, Food Safety and Drug Administration, said. After the recent development, Sweet shop owners in Hardoi district have welcomed the move, with some saying they have already been following the practice. "We have mentioned the use-by date for khoya sweets. We are also giving the same-day use-by date for dry-fruit sweets and chhena sweets. We have given khoya sweets a shelf life of three days and dry-fruit sweets a shelf life of 14-15 days," a shopkeeper said in Hindi. Customers have also welcomed it, saying they can now be sure that the sweets they buy are fresh and safe to consume."This is a very good initiative by the government, and we all should support it. What happens is that a customer goes to a shop and buys something with trust, for example, khoya sweets. But the shopkeeper, in the interest of his profit, does not tell the customer. The customer takes the sweets home and then finds that they have gone bad. They have to face embarrassment in front of people. That is why this is a very good initiative by the government," a customer said. Food safety officials said sweet shops are being informed about the requirement, ahead of its implementation across Uttar Pradesh.