Aurangabad, Sept 15:
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has made it mandatory to have a best before date tag or date of manufacturing on sweets sold in open form in sweet shops. Initially, the vendors implemented the orders, But nearly after a year, the sweet shops in the city are selling sweets without the best before tag.
There are around two hundred sweet shops in the city. Variety of sweets are sold through the counter. These sweets are displayed in open form through a glass display to the customer. However, there is no record of when the confectionery was made or its expiry date. This could endanger the health of the consumer, especially during the festive season. Therefore, from October 1 last year, the FSSAI made it mandatory to mention the manufacturing or the best before date in front of the trays in the sweet shops. Surprisingly, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken no action in the last few months, sources said. The department does not even have any information on how many confectioners there are in the city. Except for a few reputed shops, many are selling sweets without mentioning the details. Shops in markets like Gulmandi, Garkheda, TV Center, Avishkar Chowk, Mukundwadi, Chikalthana and Beed Bypass seem to be in flagrant violation of this rule.
What the rules say
Following the order of the FSSAI, vendors are required to display the best before date sign in front of sweet trays when selling open sweets. While it is not mandatory to include the date of production of the confectionery, it has also been clarified that confectioners can voluntarily give this information to the customers.
Ignoring the health of citizens
During Ganeshotsav, Navratri, Dussehra and Diwali, khoya and sweets are in great demand. Eating stale sweets often leads to food poisoning. The decision was made to avoid such incidents.