From February 1st, the origin of all baked goods sold in Switzerland must be indicated either on the label or another sign — whether bought in stores or served in restaurants.
This new federal ordinance has been in force since February 2024, but retailers and restaurants were granted a grace period of one year to comply with the new law.
If this rule is not followed, owners of errant shops will be fined, with the amount based on whether this is the first, or repeated, offence.
The reason for this move is that in the past 20 years, imports of bakery items have more than tripled in Switzerland, according to Eric Emery, president of the Bakers Association in Geneva.
Today, about a third of bakery products sold in Switzerland are imported. They are delivered frozen and then reheated directly in stores, which "can mislead consumers, who are convinced that they are buying fresh Swiss bread," he said.
"What is important to us is that people buy baked goods with full knowledge of the facts. We don’t want to ban the import of bread, that is not our role. We just want people to be able to know whether it is made in Switzerland or abroad according to other standards, and with other wages.”
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