Concerns over Ferrero Rocher chocolates and child labour used for hazelnut harvesting in Turkey

The hazelnuts inside millions of Ferrero Rocher chocolates sold across Europe this Christmas may have been picked by children working in farms in Turkey, according to human rights campaigners.

The Guardian reports that Ferrero, the world’s third largest chocolate company, is struggling to address concerns that multiple farms where it sources hazelnuts for its chocolate products may use child labour.

Ferrero buys roughly 30% of all the hazelnuts it uses in its product in Turkey, where child labour is widespread. New York Times reports “Much of the harvest winds up in beloved confections, like Nutella spread made by Ferrero, candy bars made by Nestlé and Godiva chocolates made by a Turkish company, Yildiz. Few consumers know that behind each of these treats is a crop that has long been notorious for its hazards and hardships, as well as the prevalence of child labor, a scourge the government has been trying to combat for years.

Now, a growing number of seasonal hazelnut workers are Syrian refugees, a cohort with a unique set of vulnerabilities. Few have work permits, meaning they lack legal protections.”

The New York Times reports that according to the most recent government records available, in 2012 there were an estimated 900,000 children working in different industries, including farming, across Turkey. Of these, 11,300 were between the ages of six and 14. Many children working as seasonal agricultural workers do not attend the beginning of the school year and, in 2018, an estimated 67 children and teens lost their lives while working, according to the campaign group the Centre for Child Rights in Turkey.

In a statement to the Guardian, Ferrero acknowledged the problem of child labour in Turkey’s agricultural sector and said that they are “determined to prevent and eliminate child labour all along our supply chains”.

Ferrero said it neither owned nor managed hazelnut farms in Europe, but worked with farmers to ensure good agricultural and social standards. “The complexity of the hazelnut supply chain means it cannot be transformed by one single actor,” said a Ferrero spokesperson. “Cooperation is absolutely essential to tackling the issue of child labour.”

Via The Guardian  / New York Times