Please also observe all „non-veterinary“ import regulations (e.g. customs formalities, import quotas or species protection see > Wild Fauna and Flora / CITES). Note that the CITES rules do not apply for importing up to 125 gr of caviar.

Import from the EU

The competent authorities of the consigning country guarantees that the rules and possible safeguard measures applicable for dispatching products of animal origin between EU Member States are also applied  when sending such goods to Switzerland. This means that game and fish must not originate from regions or zones subject to restrictions / prohibitions in connexion with animal diseases.

All (Swiss)  “domestic regulations” also apply to imported products.  The specific requirements with regard to  transports of meat, cooling, hygiene and the regulations concerning disposal of waste  (animal by-products)  apply for game and fishas if they had been hunted / caught in Switzerland. The requirements of the food and meat hygiene law as to self-controls of hunted game, controls for trichinella and transforming plants have besides be complied with. Leftovers or other animal by-products must not be fed to farm or wild animals, see also:

Import from third countries from 1st may 2009

I. Products that are not subject to any veterinary legal requirements and can be imported into Switzerland without border veterinary inspections, regardless of quantity

• Bread, cakes, biscuits, chocolate and confectionery
• Food supplements that are packaged for the end-consumer,
• Meat extracts and concentrates,
• Olives stuffed with fish,
• Pasta that does not contain any meat and with which no meat has been admixed,
• Soup concentrates and spice extracts that are packaged for the end-consumer,
• Composite foods which contain no meat and less than half of which consists of processed products of animal origin, provided they can be kept at room temperature or during manufacture have even been completely cooked or subjected to heat treatment, so that they no longer contain any raw product, and provided they are clearly labelled as being intended for human consumption and are safely packaged or sealed in clean containers;

II. Products for personal use only that are not subject to veterinary border control and may be imported with restrictions

1. From Croatia, the Faeroe Islands, Greenland and Iceland the import of animal products up to a total weight of 10 kg per person are permitted.

2. From the Faeroe Islands and Iceland fishery products without limits are permitted.

3. From all other countries outside the EU and Norway the following quantities per person of the animal products are permitted:

a) Products that may be imported into Switzerland up to a maximum weight of 20 kg or the weight of a single fish that exceeds 20 kg

• Fresh, eviscerated fish or fishery products (fresh, dried, cooked, smoked, cured), including certain shellfish (prawns, lobsters, dead mussels, dead oysters).

b) Caviar: maximum of 125 g per person (without CITES import permit and a CITES import inspection, see also http://www.bvet.admin.ch/ > Topics > Wild fauna and flora /CITES).

c) Products that may be imported into Switzerland up to a maximum weight of 2 kg:

• Frog's legs
• Eggs, with the exception of China, South Korea and Malaysia (the importation from China and Malaysia is forbidden)
• Honey
• Live oysters and mussels, snails
• Baby milk powder, baby food, special medical food and special medical animal feed, provided these products do not have to be refrigerated before opening, they are packaged brand products for direct sale to the end-consumer and the packs have not been opened (unless in current use).