Chocolatier Barry Callebaut Bans Animal Experiments

For Immediate Release:

17 July 2020

Contact:

Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327; [email protected]

Chocolatier Barry Callebaut Bans Animal Experiments

Appeal by PETA US and Its Affiliates Prompts New Public Policy by Company, Which Was Involved in Animal Testing

Banbury, Oxfordshire – Following communications with PETA US and its affiliates, Barry Callebaut – the “world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products”, which supplies brands such as Nestlé, Unilever, and Mondelez and which has a factory in Banbury – has publicly announced that it will not conduct, fund, or commission any animal experiments unless they are explicitly required by law.

Prior to Barry Callebaut’s compassionate decision, PETA US uncovered experiments on animals that the company contributed to – which were not required by law – published between 2007 and 2019.

“Barry Callebaut has unwrapped the golden ticket, and consumers will be delighted,” says PETA Science Policy Manager Dr Julia Baines. “PETA US is urging other food manufacturers, such as MSG giant Ajinomoto, to follow Barry Callebaut’s lead by banning cruel, wasteful, curiosity-driven experiments on animals.”

As part of its campaign to end animal testing in the global food industry, PETA US has exposed how, for decades, manufacturers have conducted or funded cruel laboratory tests in which thousands of animals have been cut open, tormented, and killed – all in misguided attempts to make marketing claims about products ranging from ramen noodles to chocolate bars, breakfast cereals, and vodka.

Barry Callebaut joins a growing list of – including The Coca-Cola Company, Kellogg Company, Kikkoman, Lipton, Ocean Spray, PepsiCo, and Yakult Honsha – that have worked with PETA US scientists to replace animal tests with effective, ethical, and cost-effective non-animal research models.

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview – also applauds Barry Callebaut’s sweet pledge earlier this year to turn a German factory into one that produces solely vegan chocolate “to satisfy the growing consumer demand for plant-based indulgence”.

For more information on helping animals, please visit PETA.org.uk.

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