The Uttar Pradesh government has made it mandatory for egg producers to stamp the eggs with expiry date and the date on which they were laid, from April 1.
Eggs without the dates will be destroyed or labelled ‘not fit for human consumption’, as per a fresh government order.
The rule has been introduced keeping in view the public health and the shelf life of eggs, which remain safe for human consumption for two weeks after laying if stored at an ambient temperature of around 30 degrees Celsius.
However, ideally eggs stored in temperatures between 2 to 8 degrees Celsius are safe for consumption for five weeks.
Uttar Pradesh has only two cold storages for eggs, one each in Agra and Jhansi, and eggs cannot be kept in cold storage with vegetables since they require different temperatures.
Additional chief secretary, animal husbandry and dairy, Mukesh Meshram stated that it was found that in many cases rules were not being adhered to, and consumers were also unaware of it.
