Uttarakhand sweet shops must show making and expiry dates from October 26

Uttarakhand's Food Safety and Drug Administration has ordered every sweet shop in the state to display the date of manufacture and the expiry date of open, unpackaged sweets on the trays or counters where they are kept, starting Monday, October 26, 2026. The order, reported on October 19, was issued by the department's Commissioner, Vinay Shankar Pandey, under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. It also covers unpackaged bakery items and comes ahead of Diwali on November 8, when sales of mithai are at their highest.

Sweets are at the centre of India's festivals. Mithai is offered at temples and home altars, exchanged between families and neighbours, and bought in large quantities for Diwali, Bhai Dooj and the wedding season that follows. When sweets are sold loose from a shop counter rather than in a sealed, labelled box, the buyer has had no written information about when they were made, which is the gap the state's inspectors say they found.

That matters because, as officials pointed out, sweets do not all keep for the same time: some are fit to eat for only a day, others for up to a month. During the festive rush, when shops prepare large quantities in advance, a buyer cannot tell by looking how long an item has been on display. By requiring a 'made on' and 'best before' date on each tray, the order lets buyers tell a fresh batch from one that has been on the counter for days, and makes it harder for stale stock to be passed off as new.

The rule also fits a wider national push. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India asked all states in a directive dated September 29 to step up inspections and sampling during the festive season, naming milk products, sweets, snacks, edible oils and ghee among the priority items. Uttarakhand's order turns that general instruction into a specific, visible requirement at the point of sale, where customers can check it themselves.

For traditional sweet makers, many of them small family businesses with recipes passed down over generations, the change is more about record-keeping than cooking. They will need to track each batch and label trays correctly every day, which is simple for organised shops but may take time for small halwais.

Short-term: From October 26, shoppers in Uttarakhand should see dates on sweet trays and can ask for them if they are missing. Shops have about a week to prepare labels before the Diwali rush.

Long-term: If enforced well, date labels could become a normal part of buying loose sweets, as they already are for packed food, and may encourage other states to follow Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Who is affected: Sweet shops and bakeries in Uttarakhand, their customers, pilgrims and tourists who buy prasad and sweets in the state, and food safety officers who will check compliance during the festive season.

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