The Cassis de Dijon principle for foods

The Cassis de Dijon principle allows products sold legally in the EU to also be placed on the market in Switzerland. A special rule applies to foods: if they don’t meet the Swiss requirements, an authorisation is required from the FSVO.

The Cassis de Dijon principle

The Cassis de Dijon principle is a cornerstone of the internal EU market. It requires member states to mutually recognise their national regulations in cases where there are no generally binding EU regulations. This means that goods legally marketed in one member state may in principle be sold without further controls in other member states.

Cassis de Dijon and Switzerland

Since 2010, it has been possible to import many products from the EU into Switzerland more easily. This is on the condition that they meet the requirements of an EU country.

The Swiss parliament introduced a special regulation for foods: if they don’t comply with Swiss regulations, an authorisation is required from the FSVO. If safety and fraud protection is ensured, and it the food is not listed as an exception, the FSVO grants authorisation in the form of a general ruling that covers food products of the same type.

Application of the Cassis de Dijon principle in Switzerland is based on:

Federal Act on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBA)

Ordinance on the Placing on the Market of Products manufactured according to Foreign Technical Regulations and their Monitoring on the Market (CdDO)

Authorisation for foods

Foods from the EU that do not fully comply with the Swiss regulations may only be sold once they are authorised by the FSVO. The authorisation is granted as a general ruling if the product is safe and not misleading for consumers. For an authorisation to be granted, there must be a divergence in Switzerland's technical regulations. In addition, the food must not be on the list of exceptions.

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