Loose sweets must carry expiry date from June - FSSAI
New Delhi: Soon, the Halwai from your neighborhood has to mention the date of manufacturing and expiry of unpacked or loose food.
To the date, it was mandatory to mention the manufacturing and expiry date of pre-packed sweets or snacks.
From June, it would be mandatory to mention these details for the loose sweets and other food items.
The Food Saftey and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI) has issued an order regarding dates of manufacturing and expiry after getting many complaints against 'Local Mithaiwalas' in consumer court for selling stale food.
In the interest of public health, the regulator said that food business operators (FBOs) should decide and display the 'Best before' on the packaging or container or the tray of the loose sweets depending upon the nature of the product and the local weather conditions.
This will be effective from June 1, 2020.
State food safety regulators were asked to ensure compliance with these guidelines given in the book, the order added.
An indicative shelf life along with a suggestive logo of various sweets has been given in guidebook. A separate guideline has been issued for milk products by FSSAI.
Sweets made of milk or milk-based products like khoya, chhena have less shelf-life and they are more vulnerable. For example, peda, burfi, milk cake, gulab jamun, rasgulla, rasmalai etc. These sweets are more susceptible to microbial growth. Therefore, sanitation and hygiene in their preparation and consumption within shelf life are of utmost Important," according to the guidance note.
"Moreover, there are issues of adulteration and use of sub-standard products," the regulator said.
Joint efforts are needed to ensure the food quality and food safety by stakeholders including food businesses, consumers and regulatory authorities," said food commissioners.
Not too pleased with the diktat, all sweet shop owners are aspiring to appeal to the government against the order. They are claiming that it is very hard to implement.
"We are with FSSAI, however, sometimes it is hard to implement all the orders. A lot of milk products have a limited shelf life, and some have a longer. There are many shops that have more than 200-300 products and it is difficult to put a label on each category because of varying shelf lives." said Firoz H Naqvi, managing director, Federation of Sweets and Namkeen Manufacturers (FSNM).
Naqvi added that the association was not consulted before publishing the order.
The FSNM represents interests of over 400 manufacturers of Indian sweets and namkeens involving branded chains such as Haldiram and Bikanerwala, among others.
State food safety regulators were asked to ensure compliance with these guidelines given in the book, the order added.
An indicative shelf life along with a suggestive logo of various sweets has been given in guidebook. A separate guideline has been issued for milk products by FSSAI.
Sweets made of milk or milk-based products like khoya, chhena have less shelf-life and they are more vulnerable. For example, peda, burfi, milk cake, gulab jamun, rasgulla, rasmalai etc. These sweets are more susceptible to microbial growth. Therefore, sanitation and hygiene in their preparation and consumption within shelf life are of utmost Important," according to the guidance note.
"Moreover, there are issues of adulteration and use of sub-standard products," the regulator said.
Joint efforts are needed to ensure the food quality and food safety by stakeholders including food businesses, consumers and regulatory authorities," said food commissioners.
Not too pleased with the diktat, all sweet shop owners are aspiring to appeal to the government against the order. They are claiming that it is very hard to implement.
"We are with FSSAI, however, sometimes it is hard to implement all the orders. A lot of milk products have a limited shelf life, and some have a longer. There are many shops that have more than 200-300 products and it is difficult to put a label on each category because of varying shelf lives." said Firoz H Naqvi, managing director, Federation of Sweets and Namkeen Manufacturers (FSNM).
Naqvi added that the association was not consulted before publishing the order.
The FSNM represents interests of over 400 manufacturers of Indian sweets and namkeens involving branded chains such as Haldiram and Bikanerwala, among others.
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