43,000+ global companies doing business in the region 102,000+ key contacts related to companies and projects news and interviews about your industry in English A LIME PRODUCER certified by GlobalG.A.P, a globally recognized label for good agricultural practices, has been added to Brazil’s Dirty List for slave labor, which the Brazilian labor ministry (MTE) updated this Wednesday (April 9) the list makes public the names of individuals and legal entities held responsible for subjecting workers to conditions analogous to slavery Valdinei Aparecido Roque is the owner of Peru Comercial Exportadora de Frutas a company that has sold limes to major distributors in the international market he was cited for keeping 20 workers—including a teenager—in conditions analogous to slavery according to Brazil’s law on Fazenda Pedra Negra a property leased by the farmer in Aparecida do Taboado According to Labor inspectors who inspected the farm the rescued workers were not formally registered and harvested limes without protective equipment the group was housed in a corral before being moved to a house in the urban area of the city Even after being notified by the authorities Roque remained certified as a GlobalG.A.P producer in the city of Itajobi where the Peru Frutas company is headquartered according to documents accessed by Repórter Brasil “We’re talking about one of the most severe human rights violations – slave labor And this is not the first employer cited and likely won’t be the last to whom certifiers have granted their seal,” said Fernanda Drummond Socioenvironmental Rights Advocacy Advisor at the NGO Conectas “As long as the certification process remains unclear we will continue to have audits carried out for commercial value rather than genuine concern about correcting issues,” she added Roque told Repórter Brasil that he had not received any inquiries from the certifier following the rescue the producer explained that he operated under different business registrations in Mato Grosso do Sul and in Itajobi The businessman claimed he had hired a contractor to assemble a harvesting team at Fazenda Pedra Negra and was unaware of the workers’ conditions he pays workers above-average wages and supports social initiatives for local communities GlobalG.A.P stated on Wednesday (April 9) that Roque’s certification was no longer active the certification still showed as valid on GlobalG.A.P’s website the certificacion program said the certification remained active due to a “technical issue” in the system which led to the producer’s inclusion on the Dirty List Roque is also the target of a Public Civil Action filed last Thursday (April 3) by the Labor Prosecutor’s Office of Mato Grosso do Sul (MPT-MS) the MPT-MS demands that Roque pay 4.7 million BRL (790,000 USD) in individual and collective moral damages for violating human dignity “The defendant’s intent is irrefutable It is evident that he sought to profit criminally through the inhumane exploitation of workers,” stated labor prosecutor Claudia Fernanda Noriler Silva in the complaint Customs data accessed by Repórter Brasil show a history of commercial relationships between Peru Comercial Exportadora De Frutas and major distributors in Europe Four Seasons Harvest, a global player in the fruit market, imported limes from Peru Frutas, receiving shipments in London. The company is part of the British Dole group. On its website, Dole outlines supply chain sustainability policies that include anti-slavery guidelines Four Seasons was contacted for comment on its commercial relationship with Peru Frutas but did not respond to Repórter Brasil’s inquiries stated that it worked in 2024 with two third-party exporters who supplied products from Peru Frutas but have been formally assured by both exporters “that no Dole bound produce was sourced from the farm specifically referenced in your query.” The company added: “Further it is our understanding that produce from that particular farm is not exported.” Another international client of Peru Frutas was Jaguar The Fresh Company, which also promotes sustainable supply chain policies Jaguar said it had not recently made direct purchases from Peru Frutas but did not clarify whether its last purchase occurred before or after the labor violations were discovered that one of its suppliers had received products from Peru Frutas and that it would investigate the matter It also stated that GlobalG.A.P certification is “our first benchmark for social conditions,” and that this certification was considered in the producer’s assessment You can read all the companies’ full responses here Roque told Repórter Brasil that he had stopped exporting before the slave labor citation the company continued to post advertisements on social media promoting certified limes sold to various European countries The rescued workers were recruited for the lime harvest in Itajobi and were taken to Mato Grosso do Sul by a labor contractor according to interviews given to Repórter Brasil and testimony to labor inspectors it’s attractive,” said one of the rescued workers they were housed in a corral with only a roof overhead and no bathrooms they were moved to an accommodation in the city where beds were crammed into a windowless shed the bathrooms lacked flush systems or showers The workers also reported they were only given lunch and dinner with no breakfast provided during lime picking “Sometimes we just sat and waited for lunch because we couldn’t work anymore A lot of guys got sick,” one worker recounted “I had to call my wife and ask her to send me 200 BRL (33,6 USD) because I had nothing to eat,” said another One of the rescued workers testified to the Labor Ministry that he injured his eye on a limes tree thorn during harvest and went two days without medical assistance He was only taken to urgent care after the other workers refused to continue working unless he got help He also said he was instructed to lie during the appointment according to workers interviewed by Repórter Brasil the supervisor in charge of the group tried to hide the lodging site and asked the workers to leave Roque received 22 citations for the violations found The Ministry of Labor also found irregularities in the storage of pesticides used on the farm and in electrical installations both on the property and in the worker accommodations the employer paid labor compensations and signed a Conduct Adjustment Agreement The Dirty List for slave labor is updated semiannually by the MTE Names are added after employers notified in federal inspections have exercised their right to defense in two administrative instances They may move to an observation list by fulfilling a series of criteria and reparations Although the regulation for the Dirty List does not impose commercial or financial restrictions on those listed banks and companies use the list for risk management purposes the United Nations considers it a global example in the fight against slavery The Áurea law abolished formal slavery in May 1888 meaning Brazil no longer legally recognizes the ownership of another person situations have persisted where individuals are treated as disposable labor tools and denied freedom and dignity Brazilian law has provided for the punishment of such crimes These situations are known as contemporary slavery According to Article 149 of the Penal Code four elements can characterize modern slavery in Brazil: forced labor (which involves restriction of movement) debt bondage (captivity tied to often fraudulent debts) degrading conditions (work that denies human dignity and endangers health and life) or exhausting workdays (intense exploitation that leads to complete worker exhaustion The more than 65,000 rescued workers have been found on cattle and sisal farms; in the clearing of native forests; in charcoal production for steelmaking; in kaolin and mineral extraction; in construction; sewing workshops; brothels; and domestic work CORRECTION: this text was amended on April 15 at 10:20 a.m to correct the use of the term “lemon” for “lime” the citrus variety grown by the producer mentioned in the article and the term “certifier” for “certification program” to reffer to GlobalG.A.P Sua contribuição permite que a gente continue revelando o que muita gente faz de tudo para esconder Receba as investigações daagência de jornalismo daRepórter Brasil no seu e-mail. JORNALISMO Diretos Humanos Mundo do Trabalho Povos Tradicionais Questão Agrária Socioambiental Trabalho Escravo English Especiais PESQUISA Impacto Sobre O que fazemos Parcerias Biblioteca English PODCASTS Cova medida Esperança Jornadas Trabalheira VÍDEOS Reportagens Documentários Outros SOBRE NÓSQuem somos Equipe Transparência Prêmios Contato Diretos Humanos Mundo do Trabalho Povos Tradicionais Questão Agrária Socioambiental Trabalho Escravo English Especiais Impacto Sobre O que fazemos Parcerias Biblioteca English EDUCAÇÃO PODCASTS Cova medida Esperança Jornadas Trabalheira Reportagens Documentários Outros Quem somos Equipe Transparência Prêmios Contato Receba as investigações da agência dejornalismo da Repórter Brasil no seu e-mail. Desenvolvido por Studio Cubo e Design por Paula Carvalho Home Impacto Sobre O que fazemos Parcerias Biblioteca English Home Cova medida Esperança Jornadas Trabalheira Home Reportagens Documentários Outros APOIE Receba o conteúdo da Repórter Brasil direto na sua caixa de email This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page This is the bizarre moment a 16-foot snake struggled to swim after eating a capybara - the world's largest rodent The anaconda was spotted by a group of tourists in Aparecida do Taboado in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. An onlooker recorded the creature bobbing in the water of the Paraná River as it tried to find a place to rest to digest its meal. Footage shows the huge anaconda lying on the water's surface with its stomach swollen after eating the rodent - which can weigh up to 201lbs. An onlooker splashes the creature, causing it to start moving. It tries to swim away, but its over-sized stomach remains floating above the water. It then appears to give up and rolls onto its side with its lighter-coloured underbelly facing the camera. Subtenant Braguini from the region's Environmental Military Police said: 'As it uses its muscles and contraction to move, it was having difficulties because of the size of prey it swallowed.' Braguini added that the snake had probably eaten its prey moments before the video was taken. He said: 'As it made a very big effort to kill the capybara, it was looking for support to not be floating, so the digestive process had not even started.' Found in the jungles of South America, anacondas kill by wrapping their long bodies around their prey and then constricting with powerful muscles. As the prey exhales the anaconda's muscles tighten, slowly restricting the prey's lungs until it asphyxiates. Like most snakes, the anaconda can unhinge its jaws and swallow prey larger than its own body. It will feed on a variety of large animals including pigs, deer, caiman, birds, fish, and large rodents such as capybara. Major terror attack 'was just HOURS away' before it was foiled by the special forces and police:... Victim of acid attack 'plotted by his ex-partner who teamed up with a gang' dies in hospital six... Pub is forced to pay family £75,000 after wrongly accusing them of 'dine and dash' over £150... We are trapped in unsellable newbuild homes after a £52m dual carriageway was built on our... King, Queen, William and Kate honour selfless devotion of Britain's wartime heroes as they lead... 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Husband of British mother, 65, who was knifed to death in French village says her affair is a... Anaconda tries to swim with a bloated stomach in BrazilCommenting on this article has endedNewest{{#isModerationStatus}}{{moderationStatus}} Menu FUNDADO EM 1894 E ONLINE DESDE 1996 Cidades Santos FC Porto Esportes Variedades Opinião Projetos Acervo Assinante Classificados Clube Grade da TV aberta Newsletter Publicidade Legal É proibida a reprodução do conteúdo em qualquer meio de comunicação Expediente Política de Privacidade Termos de Uso Publicidade Legal Anúncios Web Mídia Web O endereço abaixo não existe na globo.com