Non-packaged sweets: FSSAI scraps expiry date provision
safefoodmitra.com · 2023-11-10 11:01:21
The Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has removed the mandatory provision of ‘best before date’ on containers and trays of non-packaged and loose sweets. Food business operators (FBOs) are no longer legally bound to mention the best before date on such food items, official sources told Bizz Buzz, adding that the FBOs may continue to mention the best before date on such eatables on a voluntary basis.
The FSSAI’s decision is not the result of any demand from the food business; it arose from a technicality. The Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labeling of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011, had introduced the provision of the best before date. The 2011 regulations have been superseded by the Food Safety and Standards (Labeling and Display) Regulations, 2020. Food authority officials, however, found the directions of the 2020 regulations need further deliberations by the scientific panel concerned regarding the date markings on non-packaged and loose food products. Therefore, the FSSAI has decided to suspend the directions issued on September 25, 2020, to FBOs regarding non-packaged sweets, loose sweet containers, and trays.