A public pension fund has filed suit today against Hershey Company to inspect the company’s books and records, contending that the Pennsylvania-based confectioner uses cocoa produced as a result of unlawful child and forced labor in the West African countries of Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
The demand to inspect Hershey’s corporate records was made by Louisiana Municipal Police Employees’ Retirement System, and comes one day after Halloween, when candy sales and chocolate consumption are at their highest levels, particularly among children. The court filing marks the beginning of what could be a major shareholder challenge to the business practices of Hershey, the largest chocolate producer in North America. The company sells chocolate in some 70 countries worldwide with over $6.8 billion in net sales in the past fiscal year.
