The iconic Matterhorn mountain’s peak that appears on Toblerone packaging is to be removed.

It comes as Mondelez International – which makes Toblerone – moves part of the chocolate bar’s production from its home country of Switzerland to Slovakia.

The decision is in line with Swiss legislation that protects items claiming to be from the country under the “Swissness Act”.

It concerns the use of Switzerland’s national flag, national symbols or proclamations that products are “Swiss made”.

According to the Aargauer Zeitung newspaper, Toblerone packaging will now read “established in Switzerland”, rather than “of Switzerland”.

The act decrees that products claiming to be “Swiss made” must contain at least 80 per cent raw materials that have come from Switzerland.

For milk and dairy products, 100 per cent of the raw materials must come from Switzerland.

However, exceptions are made for raw materials and ingredients that cannot be directly sourced from Switzerland – including cocoa.

National symbols are not allowed to be used to promote milk-based products that fall short of these requirements.

‘Streamlined mountain logo’

The image of the mountain, which stands at 4,478-metres-high and overlooks the town of Zermatt, will be swapped for a more standardised summit according to Mondelēz, the confectionery brand’s US owner. 

A spokesman said: “The packaging redesign introduces a modernised and streamlined mountain logo that aligns with the geometric and triangular aesthetic.”

The shape of Toblerone, which is studded with crunch almond and honey nougat, resembles the pyramid shape of the Swiss summit that currently graces the bar’s packaging.

Hidden within the icon is an image of a bear, representing the national animal of Berne, the Swiss capital.

The name is said to be a mix of the surname of the bar’s inventor, Theodor Tobler, with torrone, a chewy almond nougat sweet popular in Spain and Italy.

The chocolate bar has been produced in the Swiss capital, Berne, since 1908. 

Last year, Mondelez announced plans to move some Toblerone production to Bratislava, the Slovakian capital, and a plant that produces Milka products – a brand of chocolate originally made in Switzerland.

In 2016, Mondelez faced uproar after it increased the gap between the peaks of its UK bars as part of cost-saving measures to reduce the weight of the bar from 170g to 150g.