Mondelēz’s sustainability program, Cocoa Life, will collaborate with governments in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana to reduce deforestation in the cocoa supply chain.
A Cayman Islands-registered company allegedly tied to deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon has lost a libel case against ConfectioneryNews and its publisher.
A group of NGOs, including the VOICE Network, Solidaridad and Oxfam, are encouraging chocolate makers to set a minimum price for cocoa and to eventually move to a flexible premium system.
The number of manufacturers using one of the four key commodities linked to deforestation has increased from 67% to 71%, but a worrying number of targets have been missed or forgotten, according to a new report.
Reporting effective approaches to tackle deep-rooted poverty and child labor in the cocoa sector should take precedence over shock headlines, writes ConfectioneryNews’ editor.
Cocoa farmers in the top producing country Côte D’Ivoire earn around 91 US cents (CFA 568) per day, according to a study by Barry Callebaut and the French Development Agency (AFD).
Cargill has begun trialing the International Cocoa Initiative’s (ICI) child labor monitoring and remediation system in cocoa growing communities in Côte D’Ivoire.
FoodNavigator approached industry and campaigners for their reflections on the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)'s 2016 Impact Report. What are the challenges and opportunities in the next 12 months?
European cocoa processing volumes declined in the fourth quarter after processor Euromar became insolvent; the global cocoa market is also expected to enter a supply surplus.
Confectionery manufacturers can expect an increased supply of sugar at reduced prices once the European Union lifts sugar production quotas later this year.
Interview with counsel for six alleged child slaves
A lawyer representing six alleged child slaves working in cocoa in a class action against Nestlé, ADM and Cargill says the ramifications of the case on the chocolate industry could be huge.
The World Cocoa Farmers Organization (WCFO) and The International CoCoa Farmers Organization (ICCFO) have merged and are urging the cocoa and chocolate industry to support efforts to group farmers to ensure traceability.
The legal risk of acknowledging there is child labor and extreme poverty in the chocolate industry’s supply chain is no reason not to act, says Barry Callebaut’s CEO.
Amnesty International has uncovered “systemic” cases of child labour and labour rights abuses in Indonesian palm oil plantations operated by Wilmar, tracing the palm oil back to firms including Nestlé, Unilever and Kellogg – companies that all claim to...
Barry Callebaut has pledged to bring 500,000 cocoa farmers out of extreme poverty and eradicate child labor in its supply chain under an initiative to source fully sustainable cocoa by 2025.
The Swiss buy more fair trade foods than Germans, but it’s not just because there are more products available to them: they’re also “more ethically convinced” by these products, researchers have found.
Calls for mandatory country of origin labelling (COOL) are growing louder in Europe and supporters say it will restore trust, provide transparency and help consumers support local producers if they wish. But one political scientist sees it as "a...
Eight-minute podcast: Fairtrade’s new cocoa director
Fairtrade International plans next year to review its minimum price and premium for certified cocoa against a study measuring the drivers of income for farmers.
New commitments to tackle deforestation in commodity supply chains have almost doubled in the past 12 months, but pledges remain “piecemeal” with very few companies looking beyond palm oil, according to a recent analysis.
Haze from slash-and-burn agricultural has returned to Southeast Asia this year. Is it enough to wait for regulators to bring the (mainly palm oil) culprits to justice? Asian resource legal experts Rick Beckmann and Kresna Panggabean enter the storm.
Chocolate companies are coming under increasing scrutiny to publish third-party verified impacts on cocoa sustainability efforts, including taxes paid in origin countries.
Mondelēz International, Mars, Nestlé and Barry Callebaut have joined forces on a community development and education program in Côte d’Ivoire in partnership with the Jacobs Foundation.
Yield increases must be coupled with agricultural reforms in origin countries and stronger financing packages to bring cocoa farmers out of poverty, according to the World Cocoa Foundation’s new president.
The Netherlands is expected to have overtaken Côte d'Ivoire as the leading cocoa processor for the 2015/16 cocoa season, as Europe's cocoa grind reaches a five-year high.
At a time when the conversation around palm oil centres on deforestation, fires and habitat loss – and global demand shows no signs of abating – several companies have come together to create Palm Done Right, a new standard for ethical palm oil production....
Introducing more cocoa farming to Madagascar is key for a sustainable vanilla market, say Barry Callebaut and Prova on the launch of their new partnership.
Greenpeace's damning report on Malaysian palm oil supplier IOI, just one month after its membership of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was renewed, could be damaging for the certifier, according to one sustainability consultant.
Greenpeace activists are blocking palm oil imports from Malaysian trader IOI at Rotterdam harbour in protest at the firm's involvement in forest destruction, peatland fires and use of child labour.
Sustainability in sugar has been side lined by the health debate, but the confectionery industry is a heavy user and must now decide whether it will support cane growers in the developing world, says Bonsucro.
Efforts are under way to bring cocoa farmers together under a single voice, but divisions still exist that hinder the chocolate industry’s push to a sustainable cocoa sector, writes ConfectioneryNews editor Oliver Nieburg.
High yielding and disease tolerant cocoa Sacha Gold has been deemed fine flavor by a leading US chocolate company and can become Ecuador’s leading variety, says developer Cimarron Cocoa Estates.
Barry Callebaut expects farmer income to grow 23% within two years under a $9m partnership with IFC and IDH to support up to 103,000 smallholder cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire by 2020.
Voluntary market initiatives from the largest buyers and sellers of palm oil could help curb deforestation linked to the crop, researchers say, noting South America and Africa are most at risk of future damage.
Replacing tropical lowland forests with oil palm plantations can damage 11 out of 14 functions of a healthy ecosystem, some of which will be irreparable, researchers say.
Cocoa and chocolate stakeholders highlight the advantages and potential pitfalls of high-yielding cocoa variety CCN-51. What part should it play in the industry’s drive for sustainability?
A project in Peru aimed at transitioning farmers from coca to cocoa can help boost yields globally with a unique pruning technique, says project facilitator Technoserve.
