As reported by Matthew Allen on swissinfo.com on April 6, 2008: The Swiss government wants to replace vague laws with
concrete rules to crack down on abuses of "made in Switzerland" and
Swiss cross labels. Consumer groups have welcomed the idea, but business
leaders want flexibility.
Proposals under
consideration: At least 60% of research, development and manufacturing costs
should be in Switzerland and that food products should be made of at least 90%
home-grown ingredients to qualify as Swiss made.
The Consumer
Protection Association wants to see for example an end to Swiss branded cheeses
containing milk from Polish or German cows. "This is absurd. For Swiss
consumers the milk in Swiss cheeses comes from Swiss cows. Whatever has a Swiss
cross or Swiss origin on it must have Swiss [ingredients] in it," the
association stated.
However, food giant
Nestlé did not think that the origin of raw materials made much of a difference
to consumers. "I don't think people really mind where the milk comes from
when they buy, for example, chocolate. They buy it because they like the
finished product," spokesman Francois-Xavier Perroud told swissinfo.
