Ahead of the festive season, sweet shops across Uttar Pradesh must display the ‘Use By Date’ of all products on sale starting October 15. The requirement covers sweets displayed in trays and counters, as well as those stored for sale.The order was issued by Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) Commissioner Dr Roshan Jacob on September 24.Officials said the primary objective is to ensure that consumers have clear information about how long a sweet is intended to be consumed, addressing a gap identified during departmental inspections. The order leaves it to food business operators to determine the shelf life of individual sweets, while holding them responsible for maintaining the product’s quality and safety during the declared period.Here is what the order means for consumers and sellers.Why does the rule cover loose sweets?The order notes that expiry or use-by dates are mandatory for packaged sweets, but no equivalent requirement existed for loose sweets. The new rule makes the consumption period visible at the point of sale, allowing consumers to check the date rather than rely only on a shopkeeper’s assurance of freshness.Who decides the shelf life?The government has not prescribed a uniform shelf life. According to the order, it may range from one to 30 days, depending on the product. This does not mean every sweet can be sold for 30 days. Food business operators will determine the period based on ingredients, manufacturing processes and storage conditions.Also Read | 208 dishes identified in Uttar Pradesh’s ‘One District, One Cuisine’ list — not one of them non-vegWhat do sweet sellers say?Story continues below this adSweet shop owners say that practical challenge is not the cost of stickers but the additional work of updating date information, particularly for smaller vendors with limited staff.Sanjay Gupta of Babu Ram Mishthan Bhandar told The Indian Express: “The government has directed us to do this, so we will comply and put stickers on the trays. Cost is not the issue here, as the stickers hardly cost anything. The only concern is that someone will have the additional task of putting them on and removing them.”A prominent sweet-shop owner, speaking on condition of anonymity, said several established shops already put stickers on boxes advising customers to consume sweets within 24 hours or three days, depending on the product.“While most of the prominent sweet shop owners have already been giving stickers on their boxes about consumption within 24 hours, three days etc., the order requires us to put stickers on the trays as well. We would do it, but it might be difficult for the small vendors, who do not have such large staff,” the shopkeeper said.Is this an enforcement drive?Story continues below this adJacob told The Indian Express that the initiative is part of the department’s broader ‘Shuddha Hi Shubha Hai’ campaign on consumer awareness and food safety.“This is not an enforcement drive. It is a food safety campaign. We have been working on this, but our focus earlier was more on the manufacturing side — milk, spices, water and other products. During this part of the year, consumption is at its peak, so we are taking up sectors one by one. With festivals approaching, we are now focusing on sweets,” she said.The department is also testing food samples through facilities in Noida, Kanpur and Lucknow and reaching out to trade bodies, including halwai associations, to communicate the requirement.Also in Explained | Can makeup beat facial recognition tech? What Richa Chadha’s ‘tutorial’ gets right, and wrongJacob clarified that enforcement would not begin with blanket action against sweet shops on October 15. Instead, inspectors will add the use-by date to their checklist.Story continues below this ad“As and when we check, this will be on the checklist,” she said, adding that non-compliance could invite penalties or action against licences, depending on the violation.Who is responsible for quality and safety?The food business operator must ensure that sweets meet applicable food safety and quality standards throughout the declared period.If a seller declares a five-day use-by period, for example, the product must remain compliant during those five days, subject to proper handling and storage.What is the legal basis for the order?The order invokes Sections 18(1)(a) and 30(2)(d) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.Story continues below this adSection 18(1)(a) calls for an “appropriate level of protection of human life and health” and protection of consumer interests, including “fair practices in all kinds of food trade with reference to food safety standards and practices”.Section 30(2)(d) requires authorities to ensure “an efficient and uniform implementation of the standards and other requirements as specified” and maintain “a high standard of objectivity, accountability, practicability, transparency and credibility”.The department has cited these provisions to link date information with consumer protection, transparency and food safety standards.What should consumers check?From October 15, consumers should check the displayed use-by date before buying sweets, especially loose varieties. If the date is missing or unclear, they should ask the seller for clarification and avoid consuming sweets beyond the declared date.