Eggs Without Expiry Dates Not Allowed in Uttar Pradesh From April 1

Uttar Pradesh will require eggs to display production and expiry dates from April 1, with colour coded ink reflecting storage conditions. The policy aims to help consumers assess freshness and reduce waste, while outlining implementation and cost expectations for farmers and shops.

From 1 April, every egg sold in Uttar Pradesh will show how long it remains safe to eat. The state government has ordered producers to stamp both the production date and expiry date on each egg, in a move officials say is meant to protect consumers.

Additional Chief Secretary, Animal Husbandry, Mukesh Meshram, has confirmed the new rule. Meshram said producers must mark every egg, similar to the way information is printed on medicine packets, so buyers can clearly see when the egg was laid and when it should be discarded.

Rules on egg expiry date in Uttar Pradesh

Officials have also clarified how long eggs may be stored under different conditions. At around 30 degrees Celsius, they should be eaten within two weeks from the laying date. When kept in refrigeration between 2 degrees Celsius and 8 degrees Celsius, officials said eggs may be used for up to five weeks.

These storage limits are expected to guide farmers, shops and consumers across Uttar Pradesh. To explain the policy, poultry farmer Baleshwar Verma from Sitapur district said a meeting was recently held under Agriculture Production Commissioner Deepak Kumar, where the labelling rule and related instructions were finalised for producers.

Implementation of egg expiry date in Uttar Pradesh

Verma told PTI, "A decision was taken that from April 1, it is mandatory to mention the production date and expiry date on the eggs, so that the consumer can know how good/fresh the egg is. This is similar to the expiry date and production date put on the medicine strips and bottles."

Verma said the industry will depend on machines to print the details on shells, and such machines are already in use. "I have been using a machine on my farm to put the stamp on the eggs for the past one-and-a-half years. Till now, we were only putting the stamp of our name on the eggs, and not the production date or the expiry date," Verma said.

According to Verma, the added process is unlikely to change retail prices in any big way. He said the cost of stamping each egg will be about 6 paise at most. Food-grade ink will be used, and colour codes will show storage type, based on the official instructions shared with producers.

Verma explained those directions in detail. "Instructions were also issued to use pink ink for eggs which will be stored at normal temperature, while eggs which will be kept in the cold storage, blue ink will be used for stamping them," Verma told PTI on Tuesday. Verma also said that any egg without the required stamp will be treated as "not fit for consumption" and will then be "destroyed" under the guidelines.