Analyses in the Cantonal Laboratories of Switzerland : Die Analytik in den Kantonalen Laboratorien der Schweiz

Abstract

The enforcement of the food law in Switzerland lies by the cantonal laboratories, which may also be involved in other domains as, e.g., in environmental or forensic sectors. They not only deal with inspection at the manufacturers or by the retailers, but also collect and analyse samples. Most of the controls take the form of regular checks based on a routine schedule drawn up at local level. The cantonal laboratories are, however, often confronted with scandals or events, which must be supervised by analysis.The activity of these laboratories has drastically changed over the last ten years by going from routine analysis (water/milk) to more complicated analytical techniques. They are developing new methods, which are suitable to analyse the products of modern food technology. The classical analytical techniques are used in almost all of the 20 laboratories. The other more sophisticated techniques are applied in specialised laboratories as, e.g., LC-GC-MS, ICP-MS, GMO analysis, alpha-spectrometry and so on.