Sourcing & Manufacturing

This page exists because we reject vague marketing. ‘Made in Switzerland’ means nothing without specifying where, how, by whom, and with what. Here are the details.

Manufactured in Leukerbad, Valais

Leukerbad is a small spa town at an altitude of 1411 m, in the Valais Alps. Our industrial partner operates a GMP-certified production site there, which also manufactures for regulated pharmaceutical laboratories.

Why Valais and not Geneva, Basel, or Zurich? For three reasons:

  • The water. The thermal springs of Valais supply the site. This water is naturally filtered through 40 years of percolation through Alpine rock. It is tested and certified for pharmaceutical use. It is our liquid raw material for the extraction and suspension phases.
  • The Swiss pharmaceutical tradition. The canton of Valais and French-speaking Switzerland have historically been home to leading pharmaceutical engineering schools (HES-SO Valais, EPFL). There is a high concentration of qualified technicians.
  • Logistics. The site is 2 hours from Geneva, 3 hours from Zurich, and 1 hour from Lausanne. Shipments to France and Germany in 24 - 48 hours via our warehouse in Annemasse (FR).

GMP Standards - Like a Medicine

GMP stands for ‘Good Manufacturing Practices’. It is an international standard for the regulated pharmaceutical and food industries. In Switzerland, the application of GMP standards for food supplements is voluntary – we have chosen to adopt them nonetheless. In practical terms, this translates into three requirements:

1. Batch Quality Control

Each production batch (typically 10,000 to 50,000 units) is assigned a unique lot number. Before being released to the market, this batch undergoes:

  • A microbiological control (testing for E. coli, salmonella, yeasts, moulds).
  • An HPLC or ICP-MS assay of the main active ingredients to verify that the actual content matches the label within ± 5%.
  • A heavy metal control (lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic) according to the thresholds of Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006.
  • A disintegration and dissolution test (for tablets) according to the standards of the European Pharmacopoeia.

2. Full Traceability

For each lot number, we keep the following for 10 years:

  • The purchase order for each raw material used (with its supplier lot number).
  • The supplier's Certificate of Analysis (CoA).
  • Our own internal Certificate of Analysis.
  • The manufacturing date, expiry date, and validated stability period.
  • The storage temperature history.

Call us with your lot number – and we will provide you with its history in 5 minutes.

3. Disposal of Non-Conforming Products

When a batch fails a control (e.g., out-of-spec assay, detected contamination), we do not ‘rectify’ it. We destroy it. This is the GMP rule, and it is non-negotiable. In 2024, we destroyed 1.8% of our production due to non-conformity – that is our commitment. Safety before profit.

Active Ingredient Sourcing

Here is the traceable origin of our main active ingredients. For each raw material, we work with an audited supplier who provides a Certificate of Analysis for each batch.

Active Ingredient Origin Form & Spec Supplier Certification
Magnesium Germany (Albion / Balchem) Chelated bisglycinate, > 14% elemental Mg ISO 9001, ISO 22000, FSSC 22000
Zinc Germany Bisglycinate, > 22% elemental Zn ISO 9001, ISO 22000
Turmeric India, supplier Sabinsa Standardised extract Curcumin C3 Complex®, ≥ 95% curcuminoids ISO 9001, FSSC 22000, USDA Organic
Krill (Omega 3 Krill) Antarctica (Ross Sea) Euphausia superba krill oil, EPA + DHA + phospholipids + astaxanthin MSC (Marine Stewardship Council), Friend of the Sea
Marine Collagen (Elegance) France (North Atlantic) Hydrolysed peptides < 3 kDa, type I, low molecular weight Friend of the Sea, ISO 22000
Melatonin (Bedtime) Switzerland / EU Synthetic melatonin, purity > 99.5% Pharma grade, USP / Ph. Eur.
Probiotics (Biotix) Denmark, supplier Chr. Hansen L. acidophilus, B. lactis, L. rhamnosus, microencapsulated, guaranteed 10 billion CFU/dose ISO 22000, FSSC 22000

Batch Testing

Here is precisely what we check on each batch before it leaves the facility:

Microbiology

  • Test for Escherichia coli and coliforms - limit: absence in 1 g.
  • Test for Salmonella spp. - limit: absence in 25 g.
  • Yeasts and moulds - limit: < 100 CFU/g.
  • Total aerobic microbial count - limit: < 10⁴ CFU/g.

Heavy Metals (by ICP-MS)

  • Lead - limit: < 3 mg/kg (Regulation EC 1881/2006).
  • Cadmium - limit: < 1 mg/kg.
  • Mercury - limit: < 0.1 mg/kg.
  • Inorganic arsenic - limit: < 0.3 mg/kg.

Active Ingredient Assay (HPLC or ICP-MS)

  • Verification that the actual content matches the label within ± 5%.
  • Verification of stability until the expiry date (accelerated stability study at 40°C / 75% RH).

No batch leaves the facility without these validated results. None.

No Fillers. No Colourings.

Here is the complete list of excipients we use in our formulas – that is, the non-active ingredients used to compress, bind, or preserve the tablet:

  • Microcrystalline cellulose - a plant-based, neutral, allergen-free filling agent.
  • Vegetable magnesium stearate - an anti-caking agent, in a quantity of < 1% of the mass.
  • Colloidal silica - an anti-caking agent, in a quantity of < 1%.
  • HPMC (hypromellose) - for vegetable capsules, a cellulose derivative, vegan.
  • Ascorbic acid - a natural antioxidant for formulas sensitive to oxidation (Krill, Elegance).

And that is all. Without:

  • Titanium dioxide (E171) - banned.
  • Artificial colourings (E102 tartrazine, E124 ponceau 4R, etc.) - banned.
  • Artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame K) - banned.
  • Animal gelatin in capsules - we use vegetable HPMC to remain vegan-compatible (except for Elegance marine collagen, which is animal by nature).
  • High-dose maltodextrin as a filler - we use a technical trace of < 0.5% only when stability requires it.

An Alpx tablet contains an average of 88% active ingredients and 12% minimal technical excipients. Most supplements on the market contain between 30 - 50% active ingredients and 50 - 70% fillers. You therefore pay for much less unnecessary powder.

To understand how we choose our active ingredients and the studies that support them, please see Our Science. If you wish to understand the brand's origin, please see Our Story.

SwissBioLab EU - Distribution · 4 Rue Alfred Bastin · 74100 Annemasse · France · contact@swissbiolab.eu
Alpx food supplements manufactured in Switzerland in Leukerbad under GMP standards.