Switzerland VHK 817.022.15 - metal and metalloid maximum levels

Scope

The VHK metal/metalloid annex sets maximum levels for food categories placed on the Swiss market. HMI records the metal and metalloid rows that match the allowed HMI species vocabulary.

Exact limit and units

The structured register contains 218 rows from the readable metal/metalloid annex: inorganic arsenic, total arsenic in salt, lead, cadmium, total chromium, nickel, total mercury, and inorganic tin. Source values are in mg/kg and are normalized to ug/kg in the CSV. Copper and zinc rows are not loaded.

How tested

The ordinance sets maximum levels and general rules for edible portions, infant-food bases, produce washing, fish portions, dried seaweed, and related basis details. The extracted metal table does not name a metal-specific analytical method.

Enforcement posture

Foods exceeding maximum levels in the annex may not be placed on the market except as otherwise provided by the ordinance. Compliant foods may not be mixed with non-compliant foods to dilute contaminants.

History of changes

The ordinance is dated 16 December 2016 and the local PDF is consolidated as of 25 February 2026. The metal/metalloid rows reflect the consolidated text at that date.

How it compares

The Swiss schedule is closely aligned in structure with European contaminant schedules but is recorded as a Switzerland jurisdictional source. Species are kept separate, including inorganic arsenic versus total arsenic in salt and total mercury versus methylmercury schedules elsewhere.

Sources

• Swiss VHK 817.022.15 consolidated 25 February 2026: metal and metalloid maximum levels

Update history

The five most recent substantive edits to this page, classified major (evidence or structure moved), correction (a published value or statement was wrong and has been fixed), or minor (narrative rewritten without changing the underlying evidence). Each description is derived from what the edit did to this page; the linked commit is the authoritative record, routine regeneration passes are excluded, and the full version history lives in git. When DOI minting comes online (see schema docs), each entry below will also link to a version-pinned DataCite DOI.