The Swiss Nutrition Policy is a national policy with a sectoral approach. The timeframe of the Plan is 8 years between 2017 and 2024. The overall goal of the Policy is to provide a healthy and varied diet and promote a balanced diet to prevent non-communicable diseases.
Eating habits will be improved to contribute towards promoting the well-being and health of the population in Switzerland. The nutritional status of babies, infants, children and adolescents, women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, and older people will be improved. Equal opportunities will be improved with a special emphasis on people with low incomes, lower educational qualifications or with a migration background. The general public s nutritional literacy will be strengthened to enable them to take responsibility for making informed food choices. Research and monitoring will be developed to gather evidence-based information to underline the correlations between diet and risk factors/diseases. Access to dietary information which is clearly understandable for everyone, and possible to implement in everyday life will be ensured. To this end, the salt and sugar content will be reduced, and the quality of the fat in foods will be optimized to create a selection of products that facilitate healthy choices. In addition, the clarity of food labelling will be promoted for assistance in choosing food products. Food manufacturers and suppliers will be encouraged to make a contribution towards a balanced diet. The effectiveness of measures to improve food and restrict marketing will be monitored. A dialogue with the food industry will be strengthened, particularly on child-targeting advertising. Multi-sectoral cooperation will be reinforced by integrating education, labour, social, consumer protection, business and agriculture as well as science and research into the nutrition policy. A technical and informal dialogue between representatives from the fields of health promotion, disease prevention, consumer protection, research, business, the Federal Commission for Nutrition and the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office will be facilitated.
An important basis for impact monitoring and the ongoing development of the Swiss Nutrition Strategy will be provided through government research and monitoring.