Frequently asked questions and answers (FAQ)

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All imported products that are traded under the ‘Bud’ logo must be declared in the SCM. Please register here and use the SCM when importing your products.

If forwarding via the SCM is not reasonably possible, please contact us.

You must always declare your entire supply chain in the SCM. However, Bio Suisse allows you to anonymize your supply chain to prevent your customers from seeing the names of your suppliers in the SCM.

In order to anonymize your suppliers, kindly send us an e-mail with a list of your suppliers indicating their respective Bio Suisse number (as shown on the certificate), name and desired code.

The initial non-recurring fee for anonymization is CHF 250.- . The annual fee is CHF 100.- for each subsequent year.

Please note that ICB AG sends the certificates of all suppliers to Swiss importers. If you also want anonymized certificates, please contact ICB AG directly at: info@icbag.notexisting@nodomain.comch. ICB AG will invoice you for this service.

Instructions for creating and checking transactions with anonymized supply chains can be found in the User Manual.

All of your suppliers must be declared in the SCM, with the exception of operations that were never the financial owner of the products (e.g., contractors and contract warehouses) and farming operations that are in the process of acquiring certification.

Please consult the User Manual.

Please consult the User Manual.

You need not declare the supply chain if your product consists of multiple agricultural ingredients and none of the ingredients makes up more than 95% of the total weight. Otherwise, declare the supply chain for the main ingredient (see the User Manual).

Please consult the User Manual.

Bio Suisse recognizes raw plant materials from producers who are members of an organic farming association that is directly approved by Bio Suisse. Those associations are listed in the Bio Suisse Standards, part V, and in the Bio Suisse Import Manual (German).

Enter the name of the association of which the producer is a member into the SCM as the “Supplier”. In the transaction, under “Supply chain” indicate that the association is “Active” and is the “Raw material producer”.

Use the following Bio Suisse numbers:

Directly approved organic farming associations : Bio Suisse number

Erde & Saat: 148725

Bio Austria: 148726

Biopark e. V.: 148731

Verbund Ökohöfe e.V.: 148730

Biokreis e.V.: 148731

Bioland e.V.: 148732

Demeter e.V.: 148734

Gäa e.V.: 148735

Naturland - Verband für ökologischen Landbau e.V.: 148736

Since only Bio Suisse certified operations have access to the SCM, your deliveries must be entered by Bio Suisse.

Please print out and complete a Bio Suisse Attestation and mail it to your importer. The importer will forward it to Bio Suisse for review and it will be entered into the SCM.

Enter details for this supplier the same way as for the other suppliers, and name the supplier the same way in the “Supply chain”. The supply chain BEFORE the Swiss supplier need not be given.

For technical reasons, the certification status (“traffic light”) of Swiss suppliers is always shown as yellow.

Importers:

Check to see who was named as the contact person in the transaction. Reminders are sent to the designated contact person. You may ask your supplier to designate a different contact person.
 
Importers/Exporters: 

Please send your desired contact address(es)via e-mail. We will change your data accordingly.

Check the status of the transaction under “Transaction progress” (see the User Manual).

Read the comments about the transaction and follow the instructions.

Answer the questions in the e-mail and send us your answers within 10 workdays. You can appeal the decision.

Operations and products from outside of Switzerland that are certified according to Bio Suisse Standards. The abbreviation is BSO.

Bio Suisse specifies the requirements for BIOSUISSE ORGANIC labelling. Operations and products from outside of Switzerland are neither allowed to bear the 'Bud' logo nor the name Bio Suisse.

Bio Suisse does not check partial certificates of inspection. Declare your products according to the main certificate of inspection.

Contact us for details.

Your inspection body does not need to check, release or stamp individual transactions for Bio Suisse. Checking will take place during the annual inspection by the inspection body (please see the User Manual).

Transactions for imports from non-EU countries must be recorded in TRACES.

Inspection bodies are responsible for annual inspections. Bio Suisse does not issue any specific requirements regarding the inspection procedure. Consult the User Manual for information on preparing for inspections.

All transactions are saved in the SCM. Therefore, you always have access to all of your transactions. Contact your inspection body to find out if any documents must be printed out.

In 2017 the EU introduced the TRACES monitoring system for the importation of organic products. Switzerland adopted TRACES in January 2018, and its use will be mandatory from January 2019. TRACES records deliveries from outside of the EU. Products from outside of the EU must therefore be declared in both TRACES and in the SCM.

The SCM has tools to link data between the two systems. Please consult the SCM User Manual.

Bio Suisse Supply Chain Monitor – an electronic system developed by Bio Suisse to monitor the supply chain of all BIOSUISSE ORGANIC products delivered to Switzerland that are to be sold under the Bio Suisse ‘Bud’ trademark.

Non-EU countries.

The operation that cultivates the raw material: Farmers, organic farming associations, producer groups, beekeepers, winegrowers, aquaculture operations, wild collection projects, etc.

The last financial owner of a product before it is imported/exported to Switzerland.

The reference number in the SCM is used for identification and to ensure consistency between the ordering and distribution systems of exporters and importers. Decide together what reference number to use. This number will appear in the summary of transactions as well as in the reminder e-mail, and it may be entered by either the exporter or the importer.

Value chain (chain of custody) - all participants in the supply chain, from the producer of the raw material to the Swiss importer.

A commercial batch that is exported or imported to Switzerland as well as its data record in the SCM.

Documents that show the value chain (chain of custody). For imports from third countries, the “Certificate of inspection”.

For imports from the EU, this used to be the "Bio Suisse attestation" (replaced by the Supply Chain Monitor as of 1 March 2017).

If you have a red traffic light in a transaction, check the validity of the various certificates under "Details" with reference to the product and time specified in the SCM (export date, crop/production year).

* If you are not certified for the product in the specified period, please contact your inspection body for any additional certification.

* If a supplier is not certified for the product within the specified period, please contact your supplier.

* If you do not find any indication for the red traffic light, please forward the transaction to the importer/ Bio Suisse despite the red traffic light.