Yahoo Finance Disturbing truth behind how Nutella is made
Around 70 per cent of the world’s hazelnuts are farmed in Turkey, but according to a new investigation, those nuts are farmed by Syrian refugees in dangerous working conditions and for less than a living wage.
The New York Times investigation, published this week, described the hazelnut farming industry as notoriously hazardous, and known for its use of child labour.
And, it warned, a growing number of Syrian refugees - a group with few legal protections - are now becoming involved in the industry, receiving poor pay and dangerous working conditions in return.
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According to the Times, workers are often working from 7am to 7pm for seven days per week.
One man, Shakar Rudani told the New York Times, that he was paid just US$10 (A$14.19) a day - half the rate he had been previously offered by the farm’s middleman.
He added that due to the steep terrain, he and his sons had to work while attached to ropes as a precaution against a fatal fall.
Another worker said he received just 50 lira (A$11.92) a day, and that the conditions were so dangerous that if he fell, “It seemed like… they’d never find you.”
Due to the poor pay, workers are often forced to bring their children into the fold to boost the family income.
As Turkey’s Labor Code does not apply to businesses employing less than 50 workers, the pricing of crops from smaller farms can be decided by companies like Ferrero, which owns Nutella and which buys one third of Turkey’s hazelnuts.
A Ferrero spokesperson told the Times the company is dedicated to “providing its people with safe and decent working conditions and we request that our independent farmers do the same”.
Ferrero’s Farming Values program is also a multi-stakeholder approach with a goal of addressing ethical, social and environmental practices around hazelnut farming.
However, Fair Labor Association’s director of innovation, Richa Mittal said Ferrero participated in conversations with the association, but said it’s difficult to independently monitor the outcome of the conversations as Ferrero doesn’t disclose where it buys its hazelnuts.
And, she added, the Association has not found any hazelnut farms in Turkey with decent work principles in place.
“In six years of monitoring, we have never found a single hazelnut farm in Turkey in which all decent work principle standards are met. Across the board. Not one.”
Ferrero has also recently come under fire recently for its use of palm oil in its cult product, now facing competition from Barilla, which has launched its palm-oil free chocolate-hazelnut spread Crema Pan di Stelle.
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