Trade in Foodstuffs: The Impact of EU Internal Market Rules on Swiss Food Legislation

Until recently, for a foreign product to be placed in the Swiss market, it had to comply with a series of public mandatory quality standards that were established at ordinance level. This situation changed radically once the unilateral adoption of the Mutual Recognition Principle entered into forced in 2011. According to new legislation, a Swiss manufacturer may choose to produce for the domestic market based on EU laws if doing so proves to be economically more beneficial than compliance with Swiss food quality legislation. Although still in force, Swiss public mandatory food standards appear to have become de facto non-mandatory law. Therefore, the question arises as to whether and to what extent Swiss legislation should provide for an independent set of rules on food quality. This paper addresses the applicable legal framework to trade in foodstuffs between Switzerland and the EU in order to better assess the legal implications of current legislative reform. It argues that smart regulatory practices inherently follow an inclusive model of governance, where all major market actors – and not only legislators - are involved in the design, adoption and implementation of effective food quality law.