Tesco's response to alleged human rights abuses in the tea supply chain
...We can confirm that we sourced from the Dufflaghur Tea Estate in 2021 and 2022.
We were incredibly concerned to hear of these reports and take any allegations of this nature extremely seriously. Our thoughts are with the employees and their families.
As soon as we were made aware of these events, we engaged with our supplier to understand their response. They have confirmed the following:
- We understand an internal investigation is ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding these incidents, as well as investigations by relevant authorities.
- Support is being provided to the family of the individual involved
- Additional health & safety measures are being put in place on the site.
Our supplier has confirmed that no sourcing has, or will, take place in 2023 from these estates, and they wouldn’t consider sourcing from these sites again until the investigation is complete, and they receive reassurance from the producer group that robust measures have been implemented to prevent future accidents...
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Full response included below.