Mondelez pumps $400m in sustainable cocoa supply chain

Cadbury owner Mondelez International has announced plans to invest $400m in its cocoa supply chain over the next ten years.

News in brief

Mars, Mondelez and Callebaut gear up for World Cocoa Conference

Major industry players including Mars, Mondelez International and Barry Callebaut are due to appear at the World Cocoa Conference in the Ivory Coast, which gets underway today.

Sugar profits sweeten the deal for ABF as grocery and ingredients slump

A bumper performance in the sugar market has helped Associated British Foods balance sharply declining profits in its ingredients and grocery businesses.

Greenpeace urges food companies to check palm oil suppliers' sustainability score

Greenpeace has published a scorecard rating palm oil producers’ sustainability efforts, in order to provide food and other consumer goods companies with better information about how their palm oil is...

Cargill looks to counter diseased Indonesian trees with sustainable cocoa investment

Cargill has extended its sustainable cocoa program to Indonesia and plans to take preventative measure to turn ailing crops into high cocoa yielding money-spinners.

Tereos acquires Romanian sugar refinery to meet Eastern European demand

French sugar group Tereos has said it will acquire Romanian sugar refinery Ludus, calling it a foundation for development in Eastern Europe.

Asia Q3 cocoa grind flat as capacity shift slows

Asia’s cocoa grind for the third quarter has remained essentially flat compared to last year after growth in the previous two quarters, figures released yesterday show.

Career Insider

Cargill’s new cocoa MD on his appointment

Cargill’s new managing director for cocoa talks about his new role and career high and lows.

Lowest Q3 cocoa grind for Europe in seven years

The European third quarter (Q3) cocoa grind has slumped 16% on the same period last year, but the statistics do not necessarily mean demand for chocolate is waning, according to...

UTZ Certified sets 50% target for sustainable coffee, tea and cocoa by 2022

UTZ Certified has said it will aim for half of the world’s coffee, tea and cocoa to be produced sustainably by 2022, at a tenth anniversary seminar held in Amsterdam...

Fairtrade defends ethical chocolate with a cocktail of uncertified cocoa

Fairtrade UK has defended rules that allow products carrying the Fairtrade logo to contain cocoa that has not been ethically sourced.

News in brief

Mars to devote $30m per year on sustainable cocoa

Mars has announced that it invested $30m on cocoa sustainability initiatives last year, and plans to invest the same amount each year until the decade is out.

Increasing demand for palm oil resulting in ‘massive carbon dioxide emissions’

Growing demand for palm oil by the food industry is causing wide-spread rainforest destruction and enormous carbon dioxide emissions, according to new research.

Editor’s Blog

Over to Mondelez for certified cocoa goals

New chocolate powerhouse Mondelez International will be the next major player to come under the spotlight over child labor on cocoa farms in Africa  and will face pressure from NGOs ...

Univar seals Tate & Lyle Sugars European distribution deal

Chemical distributor Univar has entered into an agreement with Tate & Lyle Sugars to distribute its range of sugar-based sweeteners and texture modifiers across Europe, the company has said.

Big Interview: Dave McLaughlin, World Wildlife Fund

WWF: Industry should buy into GreenPalm today, or it will struggle to source fully traceable sustainable palm oil tomorrow

Food manufacturers are beginning to realize that buying more GreenPalm certificates now might be the only way to stimulate enough production of sustainable palm oil to make fully traceable products...

Sustainable cocoa

Hershey outlines details of cocoa child labor pledge

The Hershey Company has told this site that it plans to work with multiple organizations to meet its recent pledge to use only certified cocoa by 2020, and will communicate...

Child labor pledge

Hershey stuns critics with commitment to source 100% certified cocoa by 2020

The Hershey Company has surprised its critics after announcing plans to source 100% certified cocoa by 2020.

European sugar users welcome debate on sugar reform

The EU Sugar Users Association (CIUS) has welcomed debate on sugar reform scheduled in the European Parliament on Monday, ahead of an EU vote on whether to abolish sugar quotas...

Sustainability initiative tackles cocoa and coffee losses

The Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform is making headway in preventing cocoa and coffee crop losses, improving supply and yields for manufacturers.

Barry Callebaut teams with Rainforest Alliance for certified Cameroonian cocoa

Barry Callebaut has announced that it will collaborate with Rainforest Alliance to train members from five farmer cooperatives in Cameroon to produce certified cocoa.

News in brief

Bug-infested cocoa shipment forces Brazil to suspend Ivorian imports – reports

Brazil has temporarily suspended imports from the world’s biggest cocoa grower Ivory Coast after bugs were found in a 10,000 tonne cocoa shipment, according to reports.

EU sugar quota supports ‘quasi monopoly’

The EU sugar industry benefits from a “quasi monopoly” situation as a result of the current EU sugar quota system, according to the European Starch Industry Association, Association de Amidonniers...