By Tom Hals
Nov 1 (Reuters) - The Hershey Co should turn over records
that could reveal the leading U.S. chocolate maker violated
federal child trafficking laws by using cocoa from West Africa,
according to a lawsuit filed by a public pension fund.
The lawsuit by the Louisiana Municipal Police Employees'
Retirement System, a Hershey shareholder, seeks documents which
could determine if the candymaker knew its suppliers in Ghana
and Ivory Coast used child labor.
"By producing chocolate at its Pennsylvania factory that is
the product of child and forced labor in West Africa, Hershey
has flouted domestic and foreign law and placed at risk its
century old brand and reputation," said the complaint.
The lawsuit was filed in the Court of Chancery in Delaware,
where the Hershey, Pennsylvania-based company is incorporated.
Hershey said in October it was committed to ensuring that
all of its cocoa by 2020 will come from suppliers that meet
international labor standards.
"We have been involved in on-the-ground programs, working
with public and private partners, to help eliminate
inappropriate labor practices in cocoa communities," said a
statement from Hershey on Thursday. Jeff Beckman, a company
spokesman, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
A 2011 study by Tulane University found that 1.8 million
children in the Ivory Coast and Ghana work in the cocoa industry
and that the vast majority of them are unpaid. The study also
found evidence of child-trafficking, forced labor and other
violations of internationally accepted labor practices.
If the court forces Hershey to turn over the documents, the
pension fund could look for evidence to bring a lawsuit against
the company and its directors. With evidence, the fund said it
could claim Hershey violated anti-trafficking laws and knowingly
benefited from a supplier using child labor.
The directors could be sued for not properly overseeing the
business and they could be held liable for damage caused to the
company's reputation.
In October, high-end grocer Whole Foods Markets Inc dropped
Hershey's artisan chocolate brand Scharffen Berger after
pressure from activists who sought to put the spotlight on child
labor in chocolate production.
Whole Foods told advocacy group Green America it was pulling
Scharffen Berger from its shelves until Hershey could provide
more information about its social accountability programs,
according to a statement from Green America. The group launched
a "Raise the Bar Hershey" campaign to pressure Hershey to change
labor practices at its suppliers.
Whole Foods spokeswoman Kate Lowery did not return a phone
call or email seeking a comment. Beckman of Hershey declined to
comment on why Whole Foods dropped Scharffen Berger.
The case is Louisiana Municipal Police Employees' Retirement
System v The Hershey Co, Delaware Court of Chancery, No. 7996.
Attorney for the plaintiff – Michael Barry, Grant & Eisenhofer PA of Wilmington, Del.
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