Protecting "Swiss Made"

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.