Swiss lawmakers have voted to overturn a short-lived rule on using a bag when weighing fresh produce in supermarkets, but the change might not be implemented immediately nor in all stores.
There will soon be fewer steps to weighing bags of fruit and vegetables in Swiss supermarkets after a vote to overturn a recent rule change.
Lawmakers in the Swiss parliament confirmed a U-turn to simplify self-service produce scales by voting to again allow bags weighing up to two grams to be included in the total net weight of fruits and vegetables.
From 2025, shoppers in Swiss supermarkets were required to specify the type of bag or packaging used when weighing fresh produce, something the motion’s sponsor, Daniela Schneeberger, from The Liberals, described as tedious with few advantages.
The 2025 rules required shoppers to specify whether their fruit and vegetables were weighed in a plastic bag, paper bag, reusable bag, or no bag, so the weight could be deducted from the total produce weight.
Following a vote to reverse the practice, the requirement will now end — with some exceptions.
From 2027 onwards, it will be for retailers and shopkeepers to decide whether they wish to update their scales or keep the current system.
Until the end of 2024, the rules stated that, for loose goods weighed by the customer, the net weight used for pricing should include the bag or any other packaging.
“Since this rule was repealed on January 1st 2025, consumers have had to specify the packaging used, which is a hassle,” said Schneeberger when presenting her motion.
She also pointed out that the benefit of this change was not clear, citing more work for retailers: “Retail businesses are primarily faced with additional IT and monitoring burdens,” she added.
The government, for its part, backs the change: “The Federal Council supports the motion,” Justice Minister Beat Jans said on Monday.
However, he also emphasised that shopkeepers and business owners should make the final decision and the retail sector must be able to “retain the option of continuing to apply the current solution, in order to avoid further adaptation costs”.
Weighing on the scales in-store will not disappear straight away, however, nor will any great changes necessarily come in at certain chains.
Big supermarket brands Moreover, Migros and Lidl have already announced in the media that they do not intend to reverse the change.
Other retailers have not yet said publicly if they’ll revert to the old system.
