FSSAI has withdrawn a September 2020 order that made it mandatory to declare ‘Best Before’ date on containers and trays of non-packaged loose sweets.
Withdrawal notification was issued on November 7, 2023, barely days before Diwali.
“Best before date” means the date which signifies the end of the period under any stated storage conditions during which the food shall remain fully marketable and shall retain any specific qualities for which tacit or express claims have been made and beyond that date, the food may still be perfectly safe to consume, though its quality may have diminished. However the food shall not be sold if at any stage the product becomes unsafe.
FSSAI said that the original order was issued in parity with the declaration required for packaged food products under the erstwhile FSS (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations of 2011.
Apply HereIt said now, considering that the FSS (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations 2011 have been superseded by the FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations 2020, the said directive has been reviewed and it is observed that the same requires further deliberations by the concerned scientific panel regarding the declaration of date marking on non-packaged or loose food products.
“In view of the above, the aforesaid direction dated September 25, 2020, issued stands hereby withdrawn till further decision by the FSSAI in the matter,” the regulator said.
However, FSSAI said that food business operators may declare ‘Best Before Date’ on non-packaged sweet or loose sweet containers on a voluntary or optional basis.
FSSAI Best Before date – Official Notification
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