Early Bird Registration for the World Cocoa Foundation 2022 Partnership Meeting ends on 12 September. The event, the first live gathering of influential industry figures since 2019, takes place in Brussels, Belgium, from 26 to 27 October.
The Government of Belize has launched a new initiative to tackle child labour and reduce its incidence by eliminating the worst forms by 2025 following extended dialogue with national stakeholders, cooperatives, and social justice organizations, including...
Martin Short’s short tenure at the helm of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) was announced in a brief media statement by the Washington-based organisation.
Magnum ice cream has launched an on-the-ground impact programme developed to socially and economically empower the cocoa farming communities in Cote d'Ivoire.
Oat m!lk chocolate brand, HAPPi, is teaming up with Luker Chocolate to create Kids for Nature, an exciting new project that aims to protect the remarkable wildlife of Colombia by educating the next generation to become guardians of their ecosystem.
Confectionery giant claims to be making progress against its 2025 ESG goals, and confirms progress toward the company’s goals to prevent, identify, and address potential human rights and modern slavery risks in its own operations and supply chains.
Barry Callebaut has announced it is planning to resume production in August at its chocolate factory in Belgium after operations were shutdown due to a salmonella outbreak.
Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, along with the 35 companies in the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI), have reported progress made towards ending deforestation in the two cocoa-growing countries.
The Cocoa Association of Asia (CAA) has confirmed speakers and the programme for its International Cocoa Conference & Dinner, which takes place on 1 & 2 September 2022 at the Raffles City Convention Centre (RCCC) in Singapore.
A new partnership has been launched by Fairtrade International, Fairtrade Africa, and non-profit organization Earthworm Foundation, pledging to work together to monitor deforestation and assess environmental vulnerability.
Fairtrade America has launched a new campaign that aims to ignite conversation about how little cocoa farmers earn for their crops while they also face pernicious inflation, impacts of Covid-19 and supply chain challenges.
The European Cocoa Association (ECA) has released details of the programme and speakers for its European Cocoa Forum, which takes place from 13 to 15 September 2022 in Rome.
The European Council has backed Commission proposals designed to combat deforestation linked to consumer goods sold in the region – but with some important carve-outs. As environmentalists accuse EU Environment Ministers of ‘significantly watering down’...
UPDATE 4 July 2022: Based on internal investigation, Barry Callebaut said it confirms that no chocolate products affected by the salmonella-positive production entered the retail food chain, after the strain was detected at its factory in Wieze, Belgium,...
At the end of the recent ‘Cocoa Talks’, between EU, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, and the cocoa sector, parties jointly endorsed an ‘Alliance on Sustainable Cocoa’, an ambitious roadmap to improve the economic, social and environmental sustainability of cocoa...
The long-running US child slavery lawsuit involving cocoa supply chains operated by Hershey, Nestle, Cargill in Cote d’Ivoire has been dismissed by a federal judge in Washington DC.
The Chocoa Conference returned to Amsterdam earlier this month with a live-virtual hybrid get-together of important stakeholders from the cocoa sector.
A multi-stakeholder initiative bringing together more than 70 members from cocoa suppliers, chocolate manufacturers, traders, retailers, NGOs, research institutions as well as the Swiss Government, the Platform’s annual meeting was an opportunity to discuss...
Connecticut-based healthy snack food brand GoodSam Foods has announced a new venture with Colombian chocolate manufacturer Luker Chocolate to boost educational programmes in cocoa communities.
A new innovation-driven partnership launched by Fairtrade International, Fairtrade Africa, and digital solutions provider Farmforce is set to extend the deployment of a smart data management system to more than two dozen cocoa cooperatives in Cote d’Ivoire.
Research reveals Fairtrade Standards, Fairtrade pricing, and producer support programmes positively impact certified farmers and their communities when compared to non-Fairtrade certified farmers, particularly in times of difficulty and distress.
Global cocoa supplier ECOM has published its first Smarter Cocoa Charter to set out its sustainability mission and commitments ‘to grow a smarter future for cocoa’.
Nestlé said it will continue to work with all stakeholders to ‘help protect and restore forests, promote sustainable cocoa production and thriving communities, and create a forest positive future for all’.
As the food industry champions full transparency and shifts to finding preventive measures against foodborne outbreaks, genomics testing provider Clear Labs is developing surveillance and diagnostics to progress accuracy and efficiency in today’s food...
EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski has insisted the Green Deal, which contains the landmark Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies, will remain a key priority despite the conflict in Ukraine.
Dialogue between The Cocoa Coalition (CC) and the European Commission and EU member states is continuing with news that the CC welcomes latest proposals by the governments of Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana for an Economic Pact for Sustainable Cocoa.
Mars Wrigley UK has announced a new portfolio of non-HFSS chocolate bars under the Mars and Galaxy brands in anticipation of new government regulations.
The UK government has announced a deferment of the HFSS regulations for a year – originally to come into force in October 2022 – citing the ‘unprecedented’ financial pressures facing hard-up Brits.
Early-bird rates for the European Cocoa Association Forum in September are available until 31 May. The two-day conference will feature high-level speakers from the EU institutions, cocoa producer countries and various other key players of the sector.
Mars Wrigley US and Canada has issued a voluntary recall of its gummy candies, advising there could be a thin metal strand inside the candies or loose in the bag.
An investigation by Belgium’s Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) has concluded that 62 people were infected with salmonella after consuming Kinder chocolate products made at a Ferrero factory in Arlon, Belgium, in April.
Food Standards Scotland (FSS) are investigating reports that Kinder products linked to a salmonella outbreak in Ferrero's Belgium factory are still on shelves across the country.
The Rainforest Alliance, CDP, Clarmondial, Conservation International, and USAID announce a transformational public-private ‘Business Case’ partnership to reduce cocoa and other commodity-driven deforestation, and contribute to global climate and biodiversity...
The Fairtrade Foundation has released a new report revealing key insights into factors it says can “either enable or jeopardise the ability of cocoa co-operatives to create and fairly distribute positive benefits to their farmer members.”
Divine Chocolate, the only Fairtrade and B Corp certified chocolate company to be co-owned by cocoa farmers, has said it has strengthened farmer empowerment initiatives and has joined multi-stakeholder Agroforestry project with HALBA in Switzerland.
The World Cocoa Conference has been postponed for the third time after organisers International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) cited uncertainties of holding a global gathering in Bali with the potential of more travel restrictions due to the ongoing COVID-19...
Two food industry giants are facing major European product recalls. Nestlé’s Buitoni pizza brand has been linked to an E.coli outbreak in France while Ferrero has been forced to recall Kinder products across a number of markets due to Salmonella contamination....
Two influential Washington-based organisations from the cocoa and confectionery industry have called for more stringent regulations in the cocoa supply chain regarding forest conservation.
Fairtrade International has announced Sandra Uwera will become its new Global CEO following the departure of Dr Nyagoy Nyong’o, who served as Interim Global CEO until last month.
Call for UK government to publish its long-awaited Sugar Reduction Progress Report and announce new, tougher, comprehensive, regulatory measures to incentivise the industry to reduce sugar.
Colombian cocoa supplier Luker Chocolate has announced it has joined the Tent Partnership for Refugees (Tent), a global business network of more than 200 major companies around the world committed to supporting refugees, including by hiring and training...
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is launching an investigation into the salmonella outbreak at Ferrero’s factory in Arlon, Belgium, which has led to the company recalling several batches of Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs and...
