ITALIAN confectionery giant Ferrero said that it will stop sourcing palm oil from Sime Darby Plantation after the US customs service found that the Malaysian planter used forced labour.
“Ferrero will comply with the US Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) decision,” Ferrero told Reuters via email.
The sweets maker which uses palm oil in its Ferrero Rocher chocolates and Nutella spread said it has asked its global suppliers to stop supplying palm oil and palm kernel oil from Sime Darby.
Although Ferrero buys relatively little of the edible oil from Sime Darby, its move – following similar halts by Hershey Co and General Mills Inc – is a further reputational blow for Sime Darby and for Malaysia, which faces mounting allegations of labour abuses of migrant workers in various industries.
Sime Darby told Reuters it has taken steps in the area of human rights and that all its stakeholders who are committed to sustainability can be assured of its commitment and leadership in the industry.
Ferrero is not a customer, it added.
Ferrero further said it does not buy directly from the Malaysian firm, which it said supplies 0.25% of its palm oil volumes.
Following a 2020 decision that indicated “forced labour indicators” at Sime Darby, the US CBP said in January it had sufficient evidence that the firm’s goods are subject to seizure. – April 15, 2022
Main photo credit: Malay Mail
