According to the Cassis de Dijon principle, products lawfully produced and marketed in the EU can also be sold in Switzerland without restriction. Since food products are particularly sensitive, a special regulation applies to this category.
The Cassis de Dijon principle is a cornerstone of the internal EU market. It requires Member States to mutual recognise their national regulations in cases where there are no generally binding EU regulations. This means that goods produced and marketed in one Member State may be sold without further restrictions in all other Member States.
The Cassis de Dijon principle and Switzerland
Since 2010, the Cassis de Dijon principle has enabled many products from the EU that used to have to be specially produced, repacked or relabelled for the Swiss market to be imported more easily and without technical barriers. This is subject to the condition that the products comply with the regulations of the EU country of origin.
The Swiss Parliament has introduced a special regulation for food products. Food products that do not comply in full with Swiss technical regulations must still be authorised by the FSVO. If there are no reservations about safety or the possibility of falsification, the FSVO issues an authorisation in the form of a general ruling. This covers food products of the same type.
Legal basis and requirements
The legal basis for the application of the Cassis de Dijon principle in Switzerland is formed by the Federal Act on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBA) and the Ordinance on the Placing on the Market of Products manufactured according to Foreign Technical Regulations (CdDO).
More information such as requirements, exceptions and food safety criteria can be found under “More information”. (“Legal basis and requirements” and “Imported foods must not be harmful to health”).
More information
Last modification 03.10.2016
