Diwali sweet sellers face heat over shelf life rules

New Delhi: How long will a peda stay fresh? For India's mithai makers, the question is becoming a business concern ahead of Diwali as tighter food safety rules in several states require the display of manufacturing and use-by dates even on loose sweets.

Watchdog agencies in states such as Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are among those that have made this mandatory. The directive aims to help consumers assess freshness as inspections have revealed that buyers were not always given clear information about when sweets were made or how long they remained suitable for consumption, the agencies said.

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However, small and medium-sized manufacturers and sellers said that the frequent inspections and notices have made it difficult for them to operate during the festive season, when sales are at their highest. "Determining shelf life for different varieties could mean hiring external agencies, adding to costs and workload during the industry's busiest season," said Firoz H Naqvi, president of the Federation of Sweets and Namkeen Manufacturers.

Eye on Adulteration

Products on shelves are replenished many times a day during the busy season, said Naqvi.

The Uttar Pradesh Mithai Namkeen Bakery Association recently urged the state food safety department to adopt a what it described as a supportive approach during the festive season, allowing small and medium-sized traditional businesses adequate time, training and technical guidance to formalise such practices.

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"For minor documentation, display, record-keeping or other correctable deficiencies, businesses may kindly be guided and given a reasonable opportunity to rectify them, instead of facing immediate disruption of production or disproportionate action," the grouping wrote to the Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) on October 11.

Other states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Haryana have also stepped up vigilance against adulteration during festivals and other large gatherings, when demand for sweets, edible oils, dairy products and other food items typically rises.

Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has been on a food safety, hygiene and anti-adulteration crusade that has led to widespread action with inspections of restaurants, hotels, cloud kitchens, dairies, quick-commerce dark stores and manufacturing units.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has asked states to increase surveillance to prevent the sale of adulterated and counterfeit food items during the festive season. It has also intensified scrutiny of packaged food products, issuing notices to major companies over alleged misleading health and nutritional claims, labelling discrepancies and non-compliance with food regulations.

This comes as prices of key ingredients - milk and other dairy products, dry fruits, sugar, gram flour (besan) - have risen to records this year.

Impact on margins

The rising prices of inputs including fuel has had a cascading effect on the end product and will squeeze manufacturers' margins, said Suresh Goel, chief executive officer, Bikanervala Foods.

"Inspections happen during all festival seasons and so good and hygienic practices have become a part of our processing and packaging systems," he said. Since the Covid pandemic, the industry has aligned itself with health trends with even unorganised players making efforts to adopt best practices, he said.