Thank you for your message and the opportunity to comment.

As EDEKA Group, we take our social responsibility very seriously and are committed to the protection and observance of human rights in our supply chains. It is important to EDEKA that the products we sell are produced under ecologically and socially favourable conditions. We therefore distance ourselves from any labour and human rights violations and are very interested in any possible grievances being brought to our attention in order to investigate them comprehensively.

For this reason, we also take the issues raised by Foodwatch very seriously. We will therefore scrutinise all allegations in accordance with the procedural rules of the Act on Corporate Due DiligenceObligations in Supply Chains (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz, LkSG)in order to clarifythe facts. We can currently inform you that our agreements with suppliers stipulate countries of origin other than Guatemala. However, it cannot be ruled out that very small amounts of palm oil from Guatemala may have been used. The limit value for such unintended admixtures is five per cent and the usual value is significantly lower.

We have also initiated ad hoc risk analyses in accordance with the LkSG with the direct and indirect suppliers concerned and are in regular contact with the standard setter RSPO(s. here RSPO statement). As our audits have not yet been finalised, we ask for your understanding that we are unable to comment on your enquiry in more detail at this time. In order to fulfil our own high standards, we are taking a thorough and careful approach to this importantissue. We will be able to provide additional information as soon as we have further conclusive findings.