SWITZERLAND: FEDERAL MEDICINES ACT: AMENDMENT OF THE FEDERAL FOOD LAW OF 9 OCTOBER 1992 The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6. G/TBT/Notif.97.130. 1. Member to Agreement notifying: SWITZERLAND. If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2). 2. Agency responsible: Federal Office of Public Health. Agency or authority designated to handle comments regarding the notification can be indicated if different from above. 3. Notified under Article 2.9.2. 4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable): Food supplements. 5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document: Federal Medicines Act: Amendment of the Federal Food Law of 9 October 1992. 6. Description of content: In the coming revision of the Federal Food Legislation, a new category, the so-called food supplements will be regulated in the Federal Food Law. Food supplements are products that are taken mainly with the object of improving well-being and health and that are neither food nor medicines. 7. Objective and rationale: The aim is to create a regulation for so-called borderline products that cannot be determined definitely as neither medicines nor food products. Under the present regulations all products have to conform to either of these two categories. The new regulations will prevent such borderline products from being forced into fulfilling the requirements of one of the two existing regulations without considering their composition and particularly their function. 8. Relevant documents: Federal Food Law of 9 October 1992. Regulations governing the implementation of the act will be issued at a later date in the form of decrees. Same draft text as for the Federal Medicines Act (see pages 33 and 34). 9. Proposed date of adoption: 1 July 2000 ; Proposed date of entry into force: 1 July 2000. 10. Final date for comments: 9 June 1997. 11. Text available from: National enquiry point. (0112)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0600 19970424\FO-0009)