Swiss organic sector caught in hundreds of minor infractions
The Covid-19 pandemic boosted demand for organic products in Switzerland.
Keystone
Swiss authorities discover more than 2,600 rules violations in the organic sector every year, according to local media reports. This is equivalent to an average of just over two violations for every ten inspections.
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA/ds
Farmers, food suppliers and retailers were responsible for these violations and irregularities, Le Matin Dimanche and the SonntagsZeitung newspapers reported on Sunday. The majority of the cases concerned minor violations, such as a filling out a form incorrectly.
Urs Brändli, head of the Swiss organic farmers’ organisation, Bio Suisse, puts the seriousness of the figures into perspective, arguing that “millions of organic products” are sold and that the regulations are “extremely strict”.
“Our guidelines alone are over 350 pages long. In comparison, the serious cases are relatively few,” the newspapers quoted him as saying.
The government and cantonal authorities have set a national target of one violation for every ten checks in 2018.
Switzerland to intensify border checks during sporting events
This content was published on
In the context of events including the European Football Championships and the summer Olympics, border security will be increased.
Integration of Credit Suisse into UBS now complete
This content was published on
Credit Suisse AG was formally integrated into UBS AG on Friday, with the former being subsequently deleted from Canton Zurich's commercial register.
This content was published on
The list of cities in the running as well as the requirements they need to meet have not been disclosed. A decision is to be made by the end of August.
UBS fined CHF50,000 for suspected money-laundering negligence
This content was published on
Switzerland’s finance ministry has fined UBS bank CHF50,000 after employees allegedly failed to report red flags of money laundering over several years.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Is 100% organic farming a revolution too far?
This content was published on
Organic farming is widely touted as a green and sustainable solution. The experiences of Sri Lanka and Switzerland show the reality is complicated.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.