DanWatch has shown that supermarkets that are part of the chains COOP and Danish Supermarket, trade with companies that get part of their products from settlements. This takes places despite the fact that both chains have a policy not to have settlement products on the shelves.
In Føtex pepper from the settlement Tomer, produced by Agrexco, can be found, even though the supermarket chain Danish Supermarket has "a trade agreement with their suppliers that demands that goods live up to rules and regulations, and a believe in the company knows EU rules and respect them."
The supermarket chain Coop sell Hadiklaim dates, which may be produced in the occupied Jordan valley. This occurs even though the chain, according to Mogens Werge - director of environmental and food politics - has said that Coop "has a clear politics not to import products from the settlements"
Criticism from Consumer's Council and Amnesty
Mette Boye, Head of department of Consumers Council, believes that supermarkets have a responsibility to make sure that they comply with their own policies.
"If a supermarket has expressed that it doesn't want to support the Israeli settlements economically, then it is possible to comply with these guidelines by keeping track on their suppliers and whether they operate in the specific areas. Responsible supplier management require being in charge of the whole supply chain, says Mette Boye.
Sanne Borges, adviser for companies and industry at Amnesty International, states that it cannot be justified to trade with companies that are having a production in the illegal settlements:
"If the information Amnesty has being presented for is correct, then it is our request, that Coop Denmark and Danish Supermarket should refrain from trading with products that are being produced in illegal settlements and that is against FN rules for an occupying force", she says.
Supermarkets can enforce control
Due to a lack labeling it is difficult to find out whether products are from settlements. But according to Mette Boye from Consumer's Council, the supermarkets have the best conditions for getting an insight in the supplier chain:
"The trade structure in Europe makes the supermarkets quite powerful. That should enable them to put demands on the suppliers, and have an instrument to check where the products come from. "
