Swiss Vitamin Institute (SVI)

The Swiss Vitamin Institute maintains a key international position in the analysis of vitamins in food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and biological samples for medical diagnostics of vitamins. Its certification service combined with the use of the SVI seal represents added value that helps its customers to grow their business.

In 1931, following the entry into force of a new piece of legislation in Switzerland, two Swiss Vitamin Institutes (SVI) were created, one in Lausanne and one in Basel. As the official competent authority, the SVIs were responsible for the surveillance of vitamin enriched products in food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. In 1957, a new piece of legislation required that annual checks of the vitamin content of foodstuffs and cosmetics be performed by the two SVIs.

In 1992, the legal obligation to perform the analyses of vitamin enriched products was abandoned. In 2001, the Basel SVI, which was legally totally independent of the Lausanne SVI closed down.

In 1995, the Lausanne vitamin institute became a Swiss law foundation for the benefit of the Public Health in the vitamin status and nutrition. This foundation was relaunched in 2003 under the name “Fondation Institut suisse des vitamines”. The SVI has maintained a key position in the analysis of vitamins to provide analytical services to hospitals, NGOs and companies and to assist them achieving their objectives and carrying their vitamin analysis and quality control to ensure compliance with national and international regulation.

The Swiss Vitamin Institute is an official control laboratory for vitamins recognised by the Swiss Accreditation Service (SAS), the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurement (IRMM) of the European Commission, healthcare Swiss insurers. The SVI participates in inter-laboratory vitamin analyses validation with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, USA.