Nestle promises action on Ivory Coast child-labor violations

Friday, June 29, 2012

Nestle promises action on Ivory Coast child-labor violations

Nestle, the world’s largest food company, said it would do more to eradicate child labor and other worker violations in its Ivory Coastcocoa supply chain after an outside report pointed out a range of problems.
The West African country provides 10% of Nestle’s cocoa, which is used to make chocolate products such as Kit Kat candies, according to an investigation by the Fair Labor Assn. But the company’s worker code is often flouted there, causing children to work under dangerous farm conditions instead of going to school, according to a Friday report from the association.

Nestle cooperated with the group, marking “the first time a multinational chocolate producer has allowed its procurement system to be completely traced and assessed,” according to the association.

“For too long child labor in cocoa production has been everybody’s problem and therefore nobody’s responsibility,” Auret van Heerden, president of the group, said in a statement.

Read more…