Judges of the 2014 Most Innovative New Product Awards sorted through nearly 300 tasty treats to come up with the products they deem the best of the best.
Certifiers UTZ says a redraft of its code of conduct focuses on ‘prevention’ and monitoring of child labor on farms as well as including new measures around climate change.
Swiss business developer and Indonesian government signs Cargill Cocoa Promise, just as the firm announces initial cocoa processing tests at its first Asian plant in East Java.
By Han De Groot, executive director at UTZ Certified,
Chocolate could become a small and expensive niche product unless we all do more to help cocoa farmers escape poverty, writes UTZ Certified executive director Han De Groot.
UTZ Certified has begun a three-year initiative to develop a certified sustainable hazelnut supply in Turkey, which accounts for 70% of global production.
What is the future of food? Simple communication of complex advances will be crucial, as well as picking up the pace amid a global population boom to feed the world nutritiously and sustainably, according to FoodNavigator and NutraIngredients senior editors.
Chocolate makers may struggle to guarantee their entire cocoa supply comes from a sustainable source by 2020 targets, according to auditing service Intertek.
A US court has refused to dismiss a civil case against Hershey alleging complicity in illegal child labor and human trafficking on cocoa farms in West Africa.
US headquartered firm Spangler Candy says it will not move large volumes of its production back to the US from Mexico until the US government creates a domestic sugar regime that matches world prices.
Food and drink firms must be more proactive at assessing the sustainability of their products and ingredients, rather than reacting to market interest, according to Leatherhead Food Research expert Emma Gubisch.
NGO STOP THE TRAFFIK has accused Mondelēz International of lagging behind its rivals by attempting to self-regulate child trafficking in the cocoa sector.
Mars has committed to ending deforestation associated with its palm oil supply by the end of 2015, becoming the latest multinational to do so, alongside Unilever and Nestlé, among others.
As the United Nations held its 6th Annual Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) in New York, last week, Nestlé shared its efforts to encourage women worldwide to work in the marketplace and community.
Ecom and Armajaro maintain they did not fail to pay farmers for certified cocoa beans as Ecom’s trading license is suspended and a media hotchpotch of leaked documents and official positions ensues.
The Committee of European Sugar Users (CIUS) has called on EU member states and the Commission to take adequate measures to avoid sugar shortages and guarantee a sufficient stock level at the end of this business year.
Dispatches from State of the Industry Conference in Miami
Chocolate makers are well prepared for current cocoa deficit forecasts and will only be forced to raise prices if other inputs such transportation become costlier along with cocoa, according to the National Confectioners Association (NCA).
By Winnie Byanyima, executive director, Oxfam International
Food and drink companies can have a big influence over sustainability and ethical issues in their supply chains - and have the power to change them rapidly. One year on from Oxfam's first Behind the Brands sustainability scorecard, nine of the ten...
While the debate about deforestation due to palm oil rumbles on, new research has suggested that the release of methane from palm oil processing wastewater may also be a significant concern.
The chocolate industry should embrace certification to improve the livelihoods of farmers or risk losing a generation of cocoa growers, according to the head of a Fairtrade cocoa cooperative in the Ivory Coast.
Leading food and drink makers including Nestlé, Unilever and Coca-Cola have made good progress in the year since Oxfam released its first Behind the Brands sustainability scorecard – and only one company made no progress, according to the NGO.
Palm oil supplier IOI Loders Croklaan surpassed its goal to increase volumes of certified sustainable palm oil to 30% of total European sales last year – and has certified all its plantations to Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) standards.
Godiva owner Yildiz Holding has made one of its first social investments in sustainable cocoa by sponsoring Cémoi, Blommer Chocolate and Delfi’s Processors Alliance for Cocoa Traceability and Sustainability (PACTS) program.
The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) has reiterated its cocoa deficit forecast for the 2012/13 season after a public leak led the market to erroneously believe the shortfall was greater than expected.
The confectionery industry is in good shape and demand for sustainable products and those catering to health needs has never been higher, according to ISM organizer Koelnmesse.
NGOs say human trafficking and child labor remain deep-seated problems of the cocoa industry as a Nestlé, ADM and Cargill court case stirs up old supply chain concerns.
Three Malian men have won the right to bring their civil child slavery case against Nestlé, Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) to Californian courts.
Certification is one of the most potent tools for chocolate makers to avoid serious cocoa shortages and to improve the lives of farmers, according to the burgeoning certified cocoa organization, UTZ Certified.
Mondelez International reached its 2015 goal of sourcing 100% RSPO-certified palm oil for all its purchases last year – two years ahead of schedule, the company has said.
Not quite the choc-pocalypse, but retail prices for chocolate are expected to rise in the face of cocoa price hikes, which could see the taste, shape and size of chocolate change significantly in the year ahead.
A sustainable cocoa supply chain is reliant on women, who provide a large portion of the labor and often invest earnings on items that benefit their community, says Mars Chocolate in a response to harsh criticism.
Hershey has committed to purchasing 100% traceable and sustainably-sourced palm oil by the end of 2014. Greenpeace has welcomed the move, but has reservations about timelines and terminology.
The European Cococa Association (ECA) is campaigning to exclude cocoa and cocoa semi-finished products from voluntary and mandatory origin labelling foreseen in mooted EU legislation.
The global cocoa deficit for the 2012/13 crop year was worse than previously expected, according to revised figures from the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), which has tripled its estimate.
Simply paying African cocoa growers more will not incentivize them to move away from the encroaching, more lucrative industries of palm and rubber, says Barry Callebaut.
The industry needs to think how farmers can be incentivized to grow organic cocoa because premiums do not currently compensate the productivity shortfalls from not using pesticides and fertilizer, according to Tradin Organic’s cocoa director.
Sustainable supple chain adviser Solidaridad demonstrates the impact unsustainable cocoa has on farmers' lives in a new multimedia art exhibition in the Netherlands.
Many confectioners are sidestepping responsibilities on sustainable palm oil by only ensuring products meet ‘inadequate’ RSPO standards, according to Greenpeace.
