Cultura

Occupational health and safety in the coffee, tea and cocoa
sector
Introduction
Occupational health and safety (OHS) issues are all aspects related to labour conditions and
are very often part of EU buyers’ social requirements for their suppliers. As such, good working
conditions will enhance your chances of succes in the EU market. In addition, it will often lead
to more motivatedpersonnel, which in turn could impact productivity and product quality in a
positive way.
This document outlines the main OHS issues in the coffee, tea and cocoa sector by looking at:
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Sector initiatives: how do they include OHS?
OHS in practice: what does an EU buyer pay attention to when visiting his supplier?
Dealing with OHS-issues: some practical tips.
For more information on otherbuyer requirements, please see the related document.

Sector initiatives
In the coffee, tea and cocoa sector OHS plays an important role. Requirements are often based
on ILO’s basic standards, laying down principles on what is perceived as the most important
labour issues. These concern among others basic safety conditions for workers.
Coffee and certification
The coffee market in the EU isincreasingly becoming sustainably certified and has moved
beyond being a niche market into the shelves of mainstream products. The best-known
schemes in the sector are UTZ and Common Code for the Coffee Communitey (4C). According
to 4C, the employer “assures proper occupational health and safety conditions for Workers”.
Please click here for an overview of OHS issues addressed in the UTZ Codeof Conduct.
There are differences between buyers and countries, for instance Utz holds a large market
share in the Netherlands where one of the largest supermarkets, Ahold, have certified all their
coffee against the UTZ standard. Large roasters like Nestlé, Kraft and Sara Lee and retailers
such as COOP work with 4C.
For more information on UTZ certified and 4C Code of Conduct please see therelated
documents.
Cocoa and social issues
Cocoa farming is known for being one of the most labour intensive. All of the work – from
preparing the land, planting the trees, maintenance, harvest and primary processing – is done
with manual labour, often in remote and difficult conditions. Media coverage and raised
consumer awareness has forced the industry to act, and many initiatives havebeen taken to
tackle the organizational health and safety issues in the cocoa chain.
Just as in the coffee sector UTZ is a very popular initiative, which addresses OHS issues in the
sector, please click here for an overview.
Tea and partnerships
The tea trade is dominated by multinationals and the most important initiative relevant to the
OHS issues in this sector is the ETP: Ethical TeaPartnerships. The ETP is based on the ILO
conventions, the Ethical Trading Initiatives and local laws and collective bargaining
agreements. The ETP standard addresses OHS in the following areas: hazard minimization,
machinery, fire and chemical safety, toilet and water facilities and food storage. Companies

Source: CBI Market Information Database • URL: www.cbi.eu • Contact: marketaccess@cbi.eu •www.cbi.eu/disclaimer
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such as Unilever, Twining & Co, Sara Lee, and Tetley’s take part in the initiative, which means
that the market impact is significant.
Supermarkets are a group of retailers that work with their own initiatives, such as Business
Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) and the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI), which among others
also address OHS issues at thesupplier premises. BSCI requires that “the workplace is safe
and healthy”. ETI lists the following OHS issues: A safe and hygienic working environment
including prevention of accidents and injury to health from work; Health and safety training;
Access to clean toilet facilities and to potable water, and, if appropriate, sanitary facilities for
food storage; Clean and safe accommodation, where...