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Food giant Nestlé is partnering with third-party investigators to probe its supply chains in the Ivory Coast, in a bid to tackle child labour on cocoa farms.

The initiative will see Nestlé partnered with the Fair Labour Association (FLA), a non-profit organisation seeking to end sweatshop conditions in factories worldwide.

Critics say the move is a sign the industry's previous efforts to tackle child labour issues have been inadequate. Nestlé and the world's other biggest chocolate producers signed a cocoa protocol - an international commitment to end child labour in the cocoa industry - ten years ago.

Nestlé issued a statement citing the difficulties of monitoring the cocoa supply chain saying the 'cocoa supply chain is long and complex' - making it 'difficult for food companies to establish exactly where their cocoa comes from and under what conditions it was harvested'.

The project launched next month as Nestlé prepares its application to join the FLA as a Participating Company (PC). To meet the criteria Nestlé will be expected to make its entire supply chain subject to independent external audits run at the discretion of the FLA. 

The non-profit organisation will send a team of independent assessors to the Ivory Coast in January to map the cocoa supply chain. There are approximately 800,000 cocoa farms in the country and companies have struggled to establish where their cocoa comes from and under what conditions it was farmed.

As part of the project, the FLA will publish an assessment report along with Nestlé's corrective action plan to address any labour-related issues identified during the investigation.

FLA president and chief executive Auret van Heerdan explained: 'Working with the FLA will help Nestlé and other stakeholders in West Africa to protect children in the cocoa supply chain. But eliminating child labor will take an enormous commitment from Nestlé and other companies sourcing from the region. This project is a step in the right direction, but the real test will be in whether issues uncovered in the investigation are addressed promptly and in a lasting manner.'

The FLA has been active in the agricultural sector since 2004, and says it has worked to reduce the risks of child labor and other labor rights violations on farms in several countries, including India, Pakistan, Mali and Romania.  

The FLA has already collaborated with Nestlé on a pilot project earlier this year, during which the FLA investigated possible labour rights violations during the hazelnut harvest in Turkey. The FLA says an action plan based on the findings is being prepared by Nestlé and will be shared publicly at an international forum that is being planned for the first quarter of next year in Turkey. 

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