Doubts about chocolate: U.S. officials investigate whether to block critical cocoa imports.
By Peter Whoriskey Washington Post.
A team from U.S. Customs and Border Protection visited agricultural regions of Ivory Coast last week to begin investigating whether cocoa is produced there with forced or indentured child labor and, if so, whether the U.S. should block cocoa imports.
The investigation follows a July letter from two U.S. senators asking customs officials to issue an order blocking cocoa from Ivory Coast from entering the United States unless the shipments are demonstrated to be free of child labor. The West African nation is the world’s largest producer.