Uncategorised

Nestle Australia commits to sustainable cocoa

Nestle Australia has announced that all of its chocolates is now independently certified to ensure cocoa is sourced and produced sustainably and on farms with safe working conditions.

Brands including Kit Kat, Smarties and Club chocolate will now boast UTZ certification, making Nestle the first major chocolate manufacturer in Australia to source all cocoa used for retail confectionery from certified and sustainable farms.

Nestle Australia business executive manager confectionery and snacks, Martin Brown, said the Nestle Cocoa Plan is helping farmers to run profitable farms, eliminate the use of child labour and ensure a sustainable supply of cocoa.

"Our work with West African cocoa farmers is helping to address the issues facing the farmers and their communities, while giving Australian consumers the confidence that the cocoa in them has been produced sustainably," he said.

The bulk of Nestle's cocoa comes from Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire and a Nestle Research and Development centre in the region forms an integral part of the company's Cocoa Plan, breeding high yield disease resistant plants and working with farmers to improve their practices.

The Nestle Cocoa Plan also involves:

  • Supplying farmers with 12 million higher yielding, disease-resistant cocoa trees to replace ageing unproductive trees by 2019.
  • Training farmers on efficient farming methods and responsible work practices through farmer field schools and field demonstrations. Around 27,000 farmers were trained last year.
  • Paying farmers a premium for sustainably produced cocoa.
  • Working with NGOs and the governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana to stamp out forced labour practices in the cocoa industry.
  • Working with the World Cocoa Foundation to build or refurbish 40 schools to improve educational opportunities.

For '10 Fascinating Facts About the World of Chocolate' click here.

 

Send this to a friend