Switzerland: Labelling of animal-based food products

From 1 July 2027, labelling of meat, milk and eggs will show whether certain painful procedures were carried out on animals during production. 

To this end, the FDHA (Federal Department of Home Affairs) has compiled lists of countries where such procedures are prohibited without anaesthesia or pain relief. Products from countries not included on these lists are subject to a labelling requirement. This requirement does not apply where businesses can demonstrate, as part of their statutory self-monitoring, that the procedures were not carried out or were only performed under anaesthesia. 

The labelling requirement applies to milk or meat from cattle and cows that have been castrated or dehorned without anaesthesia. It also applies to pork where castration, tail docking or tooth clipping took place without effective pain control. Eggs and poultry meat are also covered where the beaks of chickens and turkeys have been trimmed without anaesthesia. In addition, frogs’ legs obtained without anaesthesia are also covered, as well as meat and liver from geese and ducks subjected to force-feeding. 

In Switzerland, these practices are either prohibited or permitted only under anaesthesia or following the prior killing of the animals. Consequently, food products produced in Switzerland are exempt from the labelling requirement. 

The consultation on the Country List Ordinance was opened by the FDHA on 22 June 2026 and will run until 13 October 2026.