Uttar Pradesh Orders Food Businesses to Declare Actual Manufacturing Dates

The Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has directed food businesses to mention the actual date of manufacture or processing on packaged food products instead of using a later packing or repacking date. The move follows inspections in which officials found instances of food products being stored for considerable periods before being repacked into smaller consumer packages.

According to the directive, a product’s manufacturing date must reflect when it was originally produced or processed. A subsequent packing date cannot be used as a replacement for that information. The distinction is particularly relevant because the shelf life of a food product is calculated from its original manufacturing or processing date.

Food safety officials also raised concerns about products that are later used as ingredients in other food items. If the original manufacturing date is replaced by a later repacking date, it can become difficult to establish how long the ingredient has actually remained in storage. This can affect traceability and make it harder to determine whether the product is still within its permitted period of use.

The inspections reportedly identified practices among repackers and relabellers where the packing date was displayed in a manner that could make an older product appear more recently manufactured.

The FSDA has indicated that inspections will now focus more closely on compliance with the requirement. Food businesses will need to ensure that manufacturing records, packaging information and product labels accurately reflect the history of the product.

The directive has been issued with reference to food-safety, consumer-interest and public-health provisions under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The measure is expected to strengthen traceability across the food supply chain and provide more accurate information about the age and shelf life of packaged foods.

21-09-2026