Last year Scott May, vice president of global sweet goods at Givaudan, spoke to P&F magazine about vanilla supply sustainability and ethical sourcing programs that were underway in Madagascara.
The work comprises efforts to boost traceability, sustainability, supporting local communities by funding education, optimizing agricultural practices for vanilla and food crops, and supporting controlled curing processes and Fusarium root rot treatment. Today, he says, these programs have grown.
“We’ve spent the past 12 months expanding the program, looking at doubling the amount of material we source under ethical sourcing,” says May. This increase is expected to be reached in 2013, doubling the number of participating villages, the children benefiting and the rice grown for locals.