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Uttar Pradesh Orders 'Use By Date' On All Sweets From Oct 15

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Uttar Pradesh will require every sweet shop to display a 'Use by Date' from October 15, covering loose sweets for the first time. FSDA also bans two coolant chemicals in milk units.

Uttar Pradesh will require every sweet sold across the state to carry a visible "Use by Date" from October 15, the state's Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) Department has ruled. The order matters most for loose sweets, which until now carried no compulsory expiry marking, officials said on Sunday.

The directive was issued by Dr Roshan Jacob, Commissioner of the FSDA Department. It applies to all sweets kept in storage or put on display for sale, whether packaged or sold loose.

Department inspections at sweet-making units and retail counters found that buyers were often left without clear details on when a product was made or when it should be eaten by. Without that information, the FSDA said, shoppers cannot judge how fresh a sweet is or how long it will keep.

Shelf life varies widely by product. According to the department, some sweets last just a single day while others stay good for up to 30 days, with taste, quality and freshness declining as time passes. Marking the date, officials argue, tells buyers exactly how long they have to safely finish the item.

Under the rules in place before this order, expiry or "Use by Date" labelling was already compulsory only for packaged sweets. Loose sweets had no equivalent requirement, leaving a gap the new measure is meant to close. The department framed the change as a push for greater openness in the confectionery trade.

The FSDA also announced a separate ban on the use of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol in units that process milk and milk products. Inspections had turned up establishments using the two chemicals as coolants during steps such as pasteurisation and refrigeration.

The agency warned that both substances carry serious health dangers if they reach food, and said the ban was ordered because a leak in processing equipment could let the coolants seep into milk. It pointed to propylene glycol as a safer substitute, noting that many milk processors already rely on it.

Uttar Pradesh sweets, Use by Date, FSDA, loose sweets expiry, Roshan Jacob, food safety UP, ethylene glycol milk, sweet shelf life