Health dept clears air on tags 'best before' & 'expiry date'

ITANAGAR, Sep 14: The Directorate of Health Services, Govt of Arunachal Pradesh today came up with a press note clarifying on the definition of best before and expiry date tags on packaged commodities as per provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labeling) Regulations, 2011. (The term) best before means the date which signifies the end of period under any stated storage conditions during which the food (item) shall remain fully marketable and shall retain any specific qualities for which tacit or express claims have been made beyond that date, the food may still be perfectly safe to consume, though its quality may have diminished. 

However the food shall not be sold if, at any stage, the product becomes unsafe. The Directorate, in the press note issued by the assistant food controller Lokam Mangha, said best before and expiry date are the two different parameters altogether. For most of the food articles it is not necessary to indicate expiry date under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. 

Best before is an informed choice of the consumer. An article of food may be sold or displayed for sell beyond best before date provided the food is safe. It is mandatory to indicate expiry date only for certain specific food items like infant milk substitute and infant food. Such food articles cannot be sold beyond the expiry date, it was stated in the press note.