Foods of animal origin and certain foods of plant origin from third countries are subject to clearly-regulated import conditions and controls in Switzerland. It is not possible to import foods from all countries.
Import conditions and controls
What counts as a third country
Third countries are all countries except EU member states, Northern Ireland, Iceland and Norway. Overseas territories that are politically part of the EU may also be deemed third countries from an animal disease control perspective.
Basic principles for imports
Certain foods from third countries can only be imported into Switzerland under clearly defined conditions. These rules serve to prevent animal diseases and protect consumer health.
The official border control posts at the airports in Zurich and Geneva conduct the required checks and inspections in Switzerland. They concern foods of animal origin and certain high-risk foods of plant origin.
Depending on the type of consignment, other rules must be complied with. They include customs and agricultural regulations and species conservation requirements.
The import database assists you with the commercial import of foods and plants. Select the relevant criteria to find out about the conditions that apply to your planned import.
The FSVO accepts no liability or warranty for the accuracy or completeness of this information.
For foods brought into the country by travellers and for letters and parcels sent to private individuals, other conditions apply.
Foods must not be imported if they pose serious risks to human or animal health. In such cases, the FSVO issues protective measures that take precedence over and override the regular import conditions.
It is the responsibility of the importer to comply with the relevant regulations. The protective measures in force on the day of import apply in all cases.
For foods from protected species, such as caviar, the CITES (species conservation) regulations also apply. These imports are only permitted subject to compliance with the CITES rules.
The FSVO publishes an electronic newsletter for importers. It provides timely information on administrative requirements and on changes or tightening of import regulations that are relevant to imports from third countries.
Subscribe to newsletter for importers
Requirements for foods of animal origin
For the import of foods containing ingredients of animal origin (e.g. meat, cheese, fishery products), specific animal disease control requirements apply, depending on the country of origin. Such products may only be imported from authorised countries, regions and establishments. In addition, the country of origin must also have an EU-recognised residue monitoring plan in place.
Certain foods containing ingredients of animal origin must be inspected by the veterinary border service on import or during transit through Switzerland.
The foods that are subject to veterinary border controls are set out in Article 6 of the FDHA Ordinance on the Import, Transit and Export of Animals and Animal Products in Exchanges with Third Countries (ITEO-TC-FDHA).
These goods may only be imported by air freight with an air waybill (AWB). The fees are based on the FSVO Fees Ordinance.
The elTRA interface checks during the customs declaration to ensure that animals and goods containing ingredients of animal origin have undergone a border veterinary control.
TRACES: electronic processing of consignments that are subject to border veterinary controls
All consignments that are subject to border veterinary controls are processed electronically in the TRACES systems (Trade Control and Expert System). Importers, establishments of destination and other notifying parties involved in the import process must therefore register in TRACES.
Certain consignments of marine fishery products are subject to a document inspection. These consignments must be registered with the FSVO for inspection. The legal framework is the Ordinance on the Inspection of the Lawful Origin of Imported Marine Fishery Products.
Requirements applying to certain plant-based foods – increased border controls
Chemical residues and pathogenic microorganisms have repeatedly been detected in individual plant-based foods from certain countries of origin. As the consumption of such products can be harmful to health, they are subject to increased border controls.
The Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1793 sets out which products are affected by the increased controls. A distinction is drawn between:
Goods as set out under Annex 2 to the Ordinance on the Implementation of Foodstuffs Legislation (LMVV) that do not require official certification.
Goods as set out under Annex 3 to the LMVV may only be imported if they are accompanied by an official certificate from the responsible authority in the country of production or dispatch. The certificate to be used is defined in Annex 4 to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1793.
On arrival, the consignment undergoes an additional control. This comprises a document inspection and can be supplemented by an identity check. The border control post also takes samples of goods at specified intervals. The importer must have these samples analysed in an accredited laboratory.
The goods remain at the airport until the results of the analysis are available. If the result meets the food law requirements, the consignment can be imported and the customs clearance process can be continued. Non-compliant goods are sent back or destroyed.
The responsible authorities carry out increased controls for a specific product from a specific country of origin until the non-compliance rate drops significantly across Europe. They then reduce the frequency of controls or remove the product from the list completely.
Irrespective of this, the authorities can take samples at any time.
As this concerns high-risk foods, the importer bears all costs incurred. These include fees for the document inspection, sampling, laboratory analysis and destruction of the goods if necessary.
For specific questions about consignments that are already at an airport, the relevant border control post is responsible:
