Cadbury Accused of Rainforest Destruction

Cadbury Schweppes chief executive Todd Stitzer yesterday highlighted the group's progress in turning around Dr Pepper, its biggest brand, as he told a shareholder meeting the company was cautiously optimistic about meeting profit expectations for the year.

"The improvement in performance seen in the fourth quarter of 2003 has continued into 2004. All of our key businesses have had an encouraging start to the year," the firm said.

Before the meeting began Friends of the Earth launched a protest outside the Queen Elizabeth II conference hall in Westminster. The group was highlighting concerns over palm oil, a cut price source of vegetable fat used as a preservative in many of Cadbury's products, particularly in Britain.

Friends of the Earth handed out relabelled Cadbury chocolate bars, warning that the demand for palm oil was leading to rainforest destruction in south-east Asia. "Plantation workers are often poorly paid, with workers often forced to enlist the help of their entire family to meet production targets," the group said.

Chairman John Sunderland told shareholders: "This is a company with a great philanthropic tradition. We only deal with eco-conscious suppliers."

He said none of Cadbury's suppliers were involved in deforestation nor were there any concerns about human rights.

He acknowledged that obesity remained an issue for the company but insisted that people should take personal responsibility for what they eat.

Shares in Cadbury closed up 5p at 448p.