aha! Swiss Allergy Centre

aha! Swiss Allergy Centre (aha! Allergiezentrum Schweiz) is a non-profit foundation and independent competence centre based in Bern, Switzerland, dedicated to allergies, asthma, intolerances and skin conditions including atopic dermatitis. It supports the roughly three million people in Switzerland affected by such conditions, along with their relatives, by providing information, free consultation and training, and by raising public awareness of these health topics. The organisation traces its roots to 1935, when the self-help association DAS BAND was founded in Bern to help tuberculosis patients return to work and social life, driven by the Bernese teacher Paul Johann Kopp. As tuberculosis declined from the 1960s, the association shifted its focus increasingly to asthma and respiratory diseases. In 2000 it was converted into the foundation aha! Schweizerisches Zentrum für Allergie, Haut und Asthma, with a clear focus on allergic skin and respiratory conditions. Since 1 January 2012 the foundation has been named aha! Allergiezentrum Schweiz. aha! offers free advice on allergies, asthma, intolerances and skin conditions to those affected and their relatives, by telephone, in writing or online, based on current medical and scientific knowledge. It also publishes information materials and provides training for affected persons, relatives and professionals. Its head office in Bern employs around 20 staff; the foundation's supreme body is the foundation council, whose members come from medicine, business, law and science, supported by a scientific advisory board. The foundation holds the ZEWO seal of quality, is ISO 9001 certified and is a member of the Swiss Health Leagues Conference (GELIKO). A key part of its work is the Allergy Seal of Quality (Allergie-Gütesiegel), administered by its wholly owned subsidiary Service Allergie Suisse. The seal is an internationally recognised and protected trademark for special products and services suitable for people with allergies and intolerances, awarded after a standardised testing and certification procedure. According to the foundation, more than 1,200 products in areas such as food, cosmetics and catering carried the seal as of 2026. The label appears on foods, cosmetics, textiles, detergents and cleaning products, baby and hygiene products, and technological products such as domestic appliances and air filters. The foundation is financed through donor and patron contributions, cooperation and service contributions, and income from services, with an emphasis on independence and sustainable action. Since 2009 it has organised the National Allergy Day, held annually on 21 March, and from 2026 it runs the Fragrance-Free Day Switzerland together with Service Allergie Suisse on 1 February.

The organisation that became aha! Swiss Allergy Centre began in 1935, when the self-help association DAS BAND was founded in Bern with the aim of supporting tuberculosis patients in their return to working and social life. The driving force was the Bernese teacher Paul Johann Kopp, whose initiative also led to the creation of the social service DAS BAND and a housing cooperative in Davos. From the 1960s, as tuberculosis declined, the self-help organisation increasingly shifted its activities towards asthma and respiratory diseases. In 2000 the association was converted into the foundation aha! Schweizerisches Zentrum für Allergie, Haut und Asthma, with a clear focus on allergic skin and respiratory conditions. Since 1 January 2012 the foundation has been named aha! Allergiezentrum Schweiz (aha! Swiss Allergy Centre). Today the foundation operates from its head office in Bern with around 20 employees and works throughout Switzerland. Its supreme body is the foundation council, whose members come from medicine, business, law and science, and a scientific advisory board supports it on specialist questions. The foundation holds the ZEWO seal of quality, is ISO 9001 certified and is a member of the Swiss Health Leagues Conference (GELIKO). Its service portfolio includes free advice on allergies, asthma, intolerances and skin conditions for affected persons and relatives, delivered by telephone, in writing or online and based on current medical and scientific knowledge. It also provides information materials and publications and offers training for affected persons, relatives and professionals. Since 2009 it has organised the National Allergy Day, held annually on 21 March to raise awareness of allergies and asthma. From 2026 it also runs Fragrance-Free Day Switzerland together with Service Allergie Suisse, held on 1 February and addressing the health effects of fragrances and the handling of fragrance-free products. A central element of its work is the Allergy Seal of Quality, administered by Service Allergie Suisse, a wholly owned subsidiary of the foundation. Service Allergie Suisse acts as an independent certification body for the seal, which distinguishes products and services assessed in a standardised testing procedure for their suitability for people with allergies and intolerances. According to the foundation, more than 1,200 products in areas such as food, cosmetics and catering carried the seal as of 2026. The seal is an internationally recognised and protected trademark, based on the Allergy Seal of Quality standard, which sets requirements for certified products and services as well as product-specific maximum levels for relevant allergens, verified through an independent testing and certification procedure. Service Allergie Suisse also makes a financial contribution to the foundation. The foundation is financed through donor and patron contributions, cooperation and service contributions, and income from services, with a focus on independence and sustainable action.

• 2026

  From 2026 the foundation runs Fragrance-Free Day Switzerland with Service Allergie Suisse on 1 February; over 1,200 products carried the Allergy Seal of Quality as of 2026.

• 2012

  Since 1 January 2012 the foundation has been named aha! Allergiezentrum Schweiz.

• 2009

  The foundation began organising the National Allergy Day, held annually on 21 March.

• 2000

  The association was converted into the foundation aha! Schweizerisches Zentrum für Allergie, Haut und Asthma.

• 1960

  From the 1960s, as tuberculosis declined, the organisation increasingly shifted its activities to asthma and respiratory diseases.

• 1935

  Self-help association DAS BAND founded in Bern to support tuberculosis patients' return to work and social life, driven by teacher Paul Johann Kopp.

Non-profit, independent competence centre for allergies, asthma, intolerances and skin conditions in Switzerland, combining free advice, public information and the Allergy Seal of Quality certification.

• Allergy Seal of Quality (Allergie-Gütesiegel)

  An internationally recognised and protected trademark for special products and services suitable for people with allergies and intolerances, awarded after a standardised testing and certification procedure administered by Service Allergie Suisse.

• Free consultation

  Free advice on allergies, asthma, intolerances and skin conditions for affected persons and relatives, by telephone, in writing or online.

• Information materials and publications

  Information materials and publications based on current medical and scientific knowledge.

• Training and courses

  Training for affected persons, relatives and professionals.

1. 1aha! Swiss Allergy Centre - aha! Swiss Allergy Centreaha.ch
2. 2aha! Swiss Allergy Centre - About usaha.ch
3. 3aha! Swiss Allergy Centre - Products with the Allergy Seal of Qualityaha.ch
4. 4aha! Swiss Allergy Centrewikidata.org
5. 5Stiftung aha! Allergiezentrum Schweizde.wikipedia.org