Bronzestatue der Justitia mit verbundenen Augen und Waage – symbolisiert Gerechtigkeit und gesetzliche Vorschriften im Kontext der Schweizer Lebensmittelgesetzgebung.

Food Law

Swiss food legislation sets high standards for safety, quality, and transparency. On this page, we offer a concise and easy-to-understand summary of the most important legal principles, obligations, and regulations, from production to labeling.

Legal requirements in Switzerland

This obliges all businesses along the entire food chain, from agricultural producers to processing plants, retailers and restaurants, to comply with high hygiene standards, to produce products that are safe for health, and to provide transparent and truthful declarations to consumers.

The aim is to protect public health, strengthen trust in food products in the long term, and create fair competitive conditions. Swiss legislation follows a risk-based approach and places a strong emphasis on the self-responsibility of companies. Every business is obligated to continuously monitor and document the safety and quality of its products through self-monitoring and appropriate procedures, such as the HACCP system .

Food law requirements in Switzerland are also aligned with international standards, in particular the guidelines of the European Union, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, and the WHO. This ensures not only domestic food safety but also the exportability of Swiss products.

The most relevant legislation follows (as of May 1, 2025):

Food Law (LMG, SR 817.0)

The Swiss Food Law (LMG) serves to protect consumers. It ensures that food and everyday items – such as packaging or tableware – are safe, hygienic, and correctly labelled.

The law pursues four central objectives:

Health protection: Products that come into contact with people must not pose a risk to health.
Hygiene: The handling of food and everyday items must always be hygienic – from production to sale.
Protection against deception: Consumers must not be misled by labels, packaging or advertising.
Information obligation: All important information about a product must be clearly visible and understandable so that an informed purchase decision is possible.

What falls under the law?
The Foodstuffs Act (LMG) regulates the entire handling of foodstuffs and consumer goods: production, storage, transport, labeling, advertising and also cross-border trade (import/export).

What is considered food?
Foodstuffs are all substances or products intended for human consumption – whether raw, processed or prepared.

Duty of self-control
Businesses that handle food or consumer goods are obligated to comply with legal requirements independently (self-monitoring). This obligation applies in addition to official inspections. The Federal Council can stipulate simplified requirements for small businesses and define the necessary expertise of those responsible.

This law aims to:

to protect the health of consumers from unsafe food and consumer goods.
to ensure the hygienic handling of food and everyday items.
to protect consumers from deception in connection with food and consumer goods.
To provide consumers with the information necessary for purchasing food or consumer goods.

Anyone who manufactures, processes, stores, transports, distributes, imports, exports, or transits food or consumer goods must ensure compliance with legal requirements. They are obligated to conduct self-monitoring.
Official control does not absolve one from the duty of self-control.
The Federal Council regulates the details of self-monitoring and its documentation. For micro-enterprises, it provides for simplified self-monitoring and simplified written documentation.
He can set requirements for the expertise of people responsible for self-monitoring.

Food and Consumer Goods Ordinance (LGV)

The LGV specifies the requirements of the Foodstuffs Act (LMG) and defines exactly how foodstuffs and consumer goods must be handled in order to ensure health, hygiene, and safety at all times. It applies to all businesses involved in the manufacture, processing, storage, transport, or sale of such products.

What does the LGV regulate specifically?

Hygiene regulations for handling foodstuffs and consumer goods
Requirements for labelling, advertising, and information
Obligations for self-monitoring in all businesses
Regulations for import, export, and transit
Responsibilities within the business, as well as requirements for premises, equipment, and packaging
Safety requirements for the use of biocidal products, for example in packaging, toys, or cosmetics

Important Terms and Content

Ingredients are substances that occur naturally in food.
Microorganisms, such as bacteria and moulds, as well as contaminants, such as residues from agriculture, must not make a product harmful to health.
Zoonoses are diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans, such as salmonella.
Responsibility within the Business
Every business must designate a responsible person based in Switzerland. This person ensures that all legal requirements are complied with at every level, from purchasing to sales. If no person is designated, responsibility automatically lies with the management.

Notification Obligation

Food businesses must register with the cantonal enforcement authority. Relevant changes within the business or a closure must also be reported. Small, occasional sales activities, such as bazaars or school fairs, are exempt from this obligation.

Self-Monitoring – the Central Instrument

All businesses must ensure, through appropriate measures, that their products comply with legal requirements. The form of self-monitoring depends on the risk and the size of the business. This includes, for example:

HACCP system, meaning hazard analysis and critical control points
Internal checks through sampling and laboratory analyses
Documentation, traceability, and recall procedures
Protection against deception

These obligations apply not only to producers, but also to retailers and importers.

This regulation governs:

the production, processing, treatment, storage, transport and distribution of food and consumer goods
the hygienic handling of food and everyday objects
the labeling and presentation of foodstuffs and consumer goods, the advertising for them, and the information disseminated about them
Self-monitoring in the handling of food and consumer goods, namely sampling, assessment criteria and examination methods.
the import, export and transit of foodstuffs and consumer goods;
the transfer of legislative competence and the federal decision-making process in the area of food and consumer goods.

In this regulation, as well as in the regulations issued by the Federal Department of Home Affairs (EDI) or the Federal Office for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs (BLV) based on this regulation, the following definitions apply:

21. Ingredients: Substances that occur naturally in a particular food;
22. Microorganisms: bacteria, viruses, yeasts, molds, algae, protozoa, microscopic worms and their toxins and metabolites;
26. Contaminants: any substance which is not intentionally added to a foodstuff, but is present in the foodstuff as a residue from the production (including treatment methods in agriculture, animal husbandry and veterinary medicine), manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, presentation, packaging, transport or storage of the foodstuff in question, or as a result of environmental contamination; remains of insects, animal hair and other foreign matter are not considered contaminants;
27. Zoonoses: all infectious diseases that can be transmitted directly or indirectly between animals and humans by natural means;
28. Zoonotic agents: all viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites or other biological entities that can cause zoonoses;

The person responsible for a food business must ensure that food is not adversely altered by microorganisms, residues and contaminants or in any other way.
It must take all necessary measures and precautions to control a danger to humans.
Items used in handling foodstuffs, such as containers, equipment, tools, packaging materials, means of transport, and the premises used for the production, storage, and sale of foodstuffs, must be kept clean and in good condition.

Consumer goods may only be treated with biocidal products and may only have biocidal products intentionally added to them whose active ingredients are listed in Annex 1 or 2 of VBP61 for the relevant purpose.
Articles 31–31b and 62c of the VBP apply mutatis mutandis to consumer goods containing or treated with biocidal products.62
The EDI sets stricter restrictions for the use of biocidal products in cosmetics and toys.

The responsible person ensures that the requirements of food law applicable in their field of activity are met at all stages of production, processing and distribution.
It verifies compliance with these requirements or has it verified and, if necessary, immediately takes the measures required to restore the legal situation.
It ensures that only food and consumer goods that comply with food legislation are placed on the market.
Self-monitoring must be ensured in a form adapted to the safety risk and the production volume.
EDI can define specific responsibilities for individual product groups.

The obligation of self-monitoring includes in particular:

For Food Businesses:

Ensuring good procedural practice, including the guarantee of protection against deception
Applying the system of hazard analysis and critical control points, known as the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points system (HACCP system), or its principles
Sampling and analysis
Traceability
Withdrawal and recall
Documentation

For Businesses Dealing with Consumer Goods:

Checking the safety of consumer goods
For articles of daily use and cosmetic products: good manufacturing practice
Sampling and analysis
For articles of daily use, cosmetic products, and toys: traceability
Withdrawal and recall
Documentation

For Businesses Engaged Exclusively in the Trade of Foodstuffs or Consumer Goods:

Checking the safety of foodstuffs or consumer goods, as well as ensuring protection against deception
Sampling and analysis
For foodstuffs, articles of daily use, cosmetic products, and toys: traceability
Withdrawal and recall
Documentation

EDI Hygiene Ordinance (HyV)

The Hygiene Ordinance (HyV) comprehensively regulates the hygiene requirements for handling foodstuffs. Its aim is to ensure the safety and quality of food, from raw material to finished product. The regulations apply to all businesses that manufacture, process, store, or sell food.

What does the HyV regulate in general?

Hygiene standards for rooms, facilities, and equipment in food businesses
Requirements for personal hygiene and staff training
Regulations on processing, particularly for animal products and milk
Microbiological limits for foodstuffs
Requirements for cleaning, disinfection, and waste management

Important Hygiene Rules for Businesses:

Business Premises and Facilities

They must be clean and well maintained.
They must be constructed and equipped in such a way that hygienic working practices are possible.
Condensation, mould, dirt, and foreign bodies must not come into contact with food.

Equipment and Materials

Floors, walls, ceilings, windows, doors, and work surfaces must be easy to clean and disinfect.
Materials must be waterproof, abrasion-resistant, non-toxic, and smooth.

Temperature Control

Food must be processed and stored in suitable rooms at controlled temperatures.
Temperature monitoring is mandatory where this is necessary for product safety.

Ventilation, Lighting, and Wastewater

Sufficient lighting, either natural or artificial, is mandatory.
Wastewater pipes must be constructed in such a way that no back-contamination can occur.

Waste Management

Food waste must be removed immediately and stored in sealable, hygienic containers.
Waste collection areas must be kept clean and free from pests and, where necessary, refrigerated.

Pest Prevention and Control:

The HyV places great importance on protection against pests and vermin:

and vermin:
Businesses must be kept free from pests. This applies to all rooms and installations.
Suitable pest control measures, such as insect screens, bait stations, and monitoring plans, are mandatory where necessary.
Windows that can be opened must be fitted with insect screens.
Waste and food residues must be stored and disposed of in such a way that they do not attract pests.
Cleaning schedules and regular inspections help to detect and prevent pest infestations at an early stage.

This regulation governs:

hygiene to be observed when handling food;
the hygiene of staff in food establishments and their training in hygiene matters;
the thermal processes and processing hygiene;
special provisions for food of animal origin;
special regulations on hygienic milk processing in summer grazing farms;
the microbiological criteria applicable to food

The premises and facilities of food establishments must be clean and constantly maintained.

Rooms and facilities must be designed, laid out, built, located and dimensioned in such a way that the following requirements can be met:

They must be able to be properly maintained, cleaned, and disinfected; airborne contamination must be avoided or minimized. Sufficient work surfaces must be available to enable hygienically sound work processes.
The accumulation of dirt, contact with toxic substances, the penetration of foreign particles into food, the formation of condensation and unwanted mold growth on surfaces must be avoided.
Good food hygiene must be ensured, which also includes protection against contamination.
Where necessary, suitable, temperature-controlled processing and storage areas of sufficient capacity must be available so that the food can be kept at a suitable temperature and monitoring or, if necessary, recording of the temperature is possible.
Wastewater drainage systems must be appropriately designed and constructed to avoid any risk of food contamination. Wastewater in open or partially open drainage channels must not be able to flow from a contaminated to a clean area, especially not into an area where food is handled, if this could pose an increased risk to consumers.
Areas where food is handled must have adequate natural or artificial lighting.
Rooms and installations must be kept free of pests and vermin. Suitable control methods must be in place if necessary.
Cleaning and disinfecting agents must not be stored in rooms where food is handled.

Rooms where food is prepared, processed or handled must be designed and laid out in such a way as to ensure good food hygiene and to avoid contamination during and between work processes.

In particular, you must meet the following requirements:

Floor coverings must be kept in perfect condition and must be easy to clean and, if necessary, disinfect. They must be waterproof, water-repellent, and abrasion-resistant, and made of non-toxic material. Where applicable, they must have a suitable drainage system. The responsible person may demonstrate to the competent cantonal enforcement authority that other materials used are suitable.
The wall surfaces must be kept in perfect condition and must be easy to clean and, if necessary, disinfect. They must be waterproof, water-repellent, and abrasion-resistant, made of non-toxic material, and have smooth surfaces up to a height appropriate for the respective work processes. The responsible person may demonstrate to the competent cantonal enforcement authority that other materials used are suitable.
Ceilings, directly visible roof interiors and ceiling structures must be constructed and finished in such a way as to avoid dirt accumulation and to minimize condensation, unwanted mold growth and the detachment of material particles.
Windows and other openings must be constructed in such a way as to prevent the accumulation of dirt. If they open outwards, they must be fitted with insect screens, if necessary, which can be easily removed for cleaning. If open windows promote contamination, they must remain closed during the manufacturing, processing, or treatment process.
Doors must be easy to clean and, if necessary, disinfect. Accordingly, they must have smooth and water-repellent surfaces. The responsible person can demonstrate to the competent cantonal enforcement authority that other materials used are suitable.
Surfaces in areas where food is handled, and especially surfaces that come into contact with food, must be kept in perfect condition and must be easy to clean and, if necessary, disinfect. They must be made of corrosion-resistant, smooth, abrasion-resistant, and non-toxic material. The responsible person may demonstrate to the competent cantonal enforcement authority that other materials used are suitable.

If necessary, suitable facilities for cleaning, disinfecting, and storing work tools and equipment must be available. These facilities must be corrosion-resistant, easy to clean, and have an adequate supply of hot and cold water.

Food waste, inedible by-products and other waste must be removed from rooms where food is handled as quickly as possible.
They must be stored in sealable containers. These must be suitable, easily maintained, and easy to clean and, if necessary, disinfect.
Suitable arrangements must be made for the storage and disposal of food waste, inedible by-products and other waste.
Waste collection areas must be designed and maintained in such a way that they can be kept clean and free of animals and vermin. They must be cooled if necessary.
Waste must be disposed of in a hygienically sound manner. It must not contaminate food, either directly or indirectly.
The responsible person can demonstrate to the competent cantonal enforcement authority that other types of containers or other disposal systems are equally suitable.