G/TBT/N/CHE/200
14 August 2015
(15-4166)  Page: 1/2
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: French
 
  NOTIFICATION 
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
1. Notifying Member: SWITZERLAND 
If applicable, name of local governme nt involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):  
2. Agency responsible: Office fédéral de la sécurité alimentaire et des affaires vétérinaires , 
OSAV (Federal Office for Food Se curity and Veterinary Affairs) 
Name and address (including telephon e and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:  
Secrétariat d'Etat à l'économie , SECO (State Secretariat for Economic Affairs) 
Holzikofenweg 36 
3003 Berne Fax: +41 (0)58 464 09 58 
Email: tbt@seco.admin.ch  
Website: http://www.seco.admin.ch/   
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2. 10.1 [ ], 5.6.2 [ ], 5.7.1 [ ], other:  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff 
heading. ICS numbers may be provided  in addition where applicable): Materials 
and articles intended to enter into contact with food, which are expected to enter into contact with food under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use, or which are 
intended to transfer their constituents to food, and which are made from metal, plastic, 
cellulose, glass, paper or cardboard, wax or paraffin, or silicone; packaging inks. 
5. Title, number of pages and lang uage(s) of the notified document:  
• Ordonnance sur les denrées alimentaires et les objets usuels (ODAlOU)  (Ordinance 
on food and basic commodities) 
• Ordonnance sur les matériaux et objets destinés à entrer en contact avec les 
denrées alimentaires (Ordinance on materials and articles intended to come into 
contact with food) (58 pages, in German, French and Italian) 
6. Description of content: General requirements regarding material and articles intended to 
come into contact with food have been established in a revised version of the Ordinance on 
food and basic commodities. These requirem ents are specified in the Ordinance on 
materials and articles intended to come in to contact with food (including permitted 
chemical substances). Several major amendments have been made: 
• The observance of good manufacturing practices (GMP) has been made mandatory 
at all stages of manufacturing. 
• The principle of traceability has been introduced. 
• Provisions have been harmonized with the legislation of the main economic partner 
with regard to plastic materials and articles, and the recycling of plastic materials and articles. 
• The annex on printing inks has been amended. 
• Materials and articles intended for water distribution have been excluded from the G/TBT/N/CHE/200 
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  scope of the Ordinance. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where 
applicable: Partially harmonize standards with the legislation of the main economic 
partner, minimize legal discrepancies with the European Union, and ensure an equivalent 
safety level in Switzerland in the field of materials and articles intended to come into 
contact with food. 
8. Relevant documents: The draft technical regulation can be downloaded from the 
complete draft revision of the legislation on food and basic commodities, which is available at: http://www.blv.admin.ch/dokumentation /01013/05845/05846/index.html?lang=fr  
9. Proposed date of adoption: July 2016 
Proposed date of entry into force: July 2016  
10. Final date for comments: 1 November 2015 
11. Texts available from: National enquiry point [X] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and email and website addresse s, if available, of other body:  
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2015/TBT/CHE/15_3128_00_f.pdf 
https://members.wto.org/crnattachme nts/2015/TBT/CHE/15_3128_01_f.pdf