UP mandates stamping of eggs with expiry date from April 1

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh govt is set to make it mandatory for egg producers to stamp each egg with its expiry date from April 1 onwards.Officials at animal husbandry department said that all eggs will carry the date on which the egg was laid and by when it is safe to consume.Traders and farmers who do not adhere to this rule will either have their produce destroyed, or the eggs may be stamped with "not fit for human consumption".

Additional chief secretary, animal husbandry and dairy, Mukesh Meshram said that the food safety and drug administration (FSDA) has laid down clear rules for the storage of eggs."It was found that in many cases rules were not being adhered to. Consumers were also unaware of it, which traders and shopkeepers were taking advantage of.

All traders in UP are now directed to ensure that all eggs sold in the market from April 1 are stamped with the two relevant dates," he said.Meshram said the printing on each egg would cost just 3-4 paisa and there would not be any cost escalation. "Many farms have already started the printing work," he said."We had trouble with traders from outside Uttar Pradesh, and they too were asked to follow this rule. FSDA and our department will carry out regular inspections at farms in UP.

We will focus on eggs coming from other states. If they do not follow the rule, the eggs will either be destroyed or marked unsafe for human consumption. Action against the trader or farmer will be taken according to FSDA rules," he said.An egg is considered safe for consumption within two weeks of laying if it is stored at an ambient temperature of around 30 degrees Celsius, or within five weeks if it is stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius.According to FSDA rules, eggs cannot be kept in cold storage with vegetables, as they need different temperatures. There are only two cold storages for eggs, one each in Agra and Jhansi.Despite this, traders, especially from other states, stored eggs inappropriately in cold storages across the state.Raids were carried out earlier to prevent this practice, and more such action is likely in the coming days.Meshram said the govt was working to increase UP's egg production capacity and would accordingly expand the existing infrastructure to provide proper storage facilities to traders.