Switzerland: New declaration requirements for animal food products

From 1 July 2025, meat, eggs and milk must be labeled if the food originates from animals that have undergone certain painful procedures (e.g. castration or dehorning) without anaesthesia. Foie gras must also be declared. Foie gras has been banned in Switzerland for more than 40 years, but is permitted abroad. The new declaration requirements are intended to increase transparency for consumers and to enable informed purchasing decisions. To this end, the Federal Council today adopted the amendment to the Ordinance on Foodstuffs and Utility Articles [Lebensmittel und Gebrauchsgegenständeverordnung, LGV] and the Ordinance on Information on Foodstuffs [Verordnung des EDI betreffend die Information über Lebensmittel, LIV]. 

The following products must be labeled from 1 July 2025: 

• Beef from animals that have been castrated or dehorned without stunning 

• Pork if castration, tail docking or teeth clipping was carried out without anaesthesia 

• Eggs and meat from chickens whose beaks have been docked without anesthesia 

• Milk from cows that have been dehorned without anesthesia 

• Frogs' legs obtained without stunning 

• Liver and meat from geese and ducks from stuffing fattening