The Foundation
About the Swiss Vitamin InstituteIn 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.
What we do and Who we are
Vitamins & public health
- Epidemiological studies (antioxidant, cardiovascular diseases and cancer).
- Partner the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), an international organisation driven by the vision of a world without malnutrition.
- Information to the community.
Services & certification
- Vitamin medical analyses.
- Vitamin analysis in food, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
- Stability study.
- Products vitamin content certification and SVI seal of approval.
Independent Laboratory
Recognised by
- Swiss Accreditation Service, ISO/IEC 17025, (STS 0462).
- The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health.
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM).
- Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, Atlanta, USA).
THE FOUNDATION BOARD
Chairman of the board
ROGER DARIOLI, MD, Hon Prof UNIL
He is a physician specialised in nutrition and cardiovascular diseases. His clinical activities are mainly focused on cardiovascular prevention at the CHUV Lausanne University Hospital. He is the Vice –president of the Swiss Nutrition Society and Chairman of the Expert Group ``Health Action`` at the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health.
Member of the board
WALTER RIESEN, Prof, Dr h.c. UZH
He was Head of the Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Hematology and of the Institute for Clinical Microbiology and Immunology at the Kantonsspital St. Gallen. He is the treasurer of the International Task Force for the Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease, and honorary member and past President of the Swiss Society for Clinical Chemistry.
Member of the board
LAURENT RIVIER, PhD CHEMISTRY
He is a specialist in chromatographic methods coupled with mass spectrometry. He pioneered ultra-sensitive detection of bioactive molecules as the Director the Swiss Laboratory for Doping Analyses. He obtained both SSPT and Eurotox certifications. Since 2002, he has been an independent scientific consultant.
Member of the board
OENGUS RAMSAY, MBA
He completed an MBA from INSEAD and started his career as an auditor with Ernst & Young and gained extensive international experience in various finance and administration management positions, including the Finance and Administration Director at Debiopharm. He is the Director of Fiduram Sàrl, a company specialised in finance and recruitment.
Member of the board
ULRICH MOSER, PhD BIOCHEMISTRY
He is a scientific expert in vitamins and nutrition. He joined the Vitamin and Fine Chemicals Division at Hoffmann-La Roche in Basel to work on antioxidant vitamins and essential fatty acids before taking on the position of Deputy Head of Clinical Nutrition. He acted as the scientific expert for Roche Vitamins Europe and DSM Nutritional Products. He the Chairman of the Swiss Nutrition Society.
MANAGEMENT
Director
DR SERGE REZZI
Dr. Serge Rezzi has been appointed Director of the Swiss Vitamin Institute by the Foundation board succeeding to Dr. Mohammed Benghezal as of November 1st 2018. Dr. Mohammed Benghezal left the SVI last July to assume new functions at the University of Fribourg.
Dr. Serge Rezzi was trained in organic and analytical chemistry and developed research expertise in the field of micronutrients (vitamins, trace elements), molecular processes in nutrients metabolism and analytical sciences. He is currently Visiting Professor at Imperial College London.
Head, Analytical Chemistry
ROSMARIE VERAGUTH
She graduated as a chemical engineer and trained in analytical chemistry and quality control. She worked in the food industry (R&D for dietary nutrition, baby food and isotonic drinks) before joining the SVI to take on the responsibility of the analytics and quality control of vitamin analyses.
Advisor
MAURICE WAGNER, PhD LAW
He started his career in the healthcare industry at Hoffmann-La Roche before becoming the Executive Director of the international and European fragrance and flavour industry trade associations based in Geneva (IFRA and IOFI) and in Brussels (EFFA), Director General of Eucomed, the European medical technology trade association in Brussels. He was Corporate affairs and communication Director of Debiopharm Group™ .
OUR CUSTOMERS & PARTNERS
The Swiss Vitamin Institute has established worldwide collaborations ranging from research and clinical projects to commercial products in all vitamin related fields. The Institute is flexible and adapts to its partners’ specificities to deliver customised R&D and commercial solutions. The SVI works together with its partners to create value and to bring improved health, nutrition and healthcare outcomes to people. Below is a non-exhaustive list of the Swiss Vitamin Institute’s partners.
