Chiquita Brands International, Inc. is an international marketer and distributor of high-quality fresh and value-added food products—from energy-rich bananas and other fruits to nutritious blends of convenient packaged green salads. Our products and services are designed to win the hearts and smiles of the world’s consumers by helping them enjoy healthy fresh foods. They market their products under the Chiquita® and Fresh Express® premium brands and other related trademarks. They employ approximately 21,000 people operating in nearly 70 countries worldwide.
MISSION
Chiquita’s mission is to help the world’s consumers broaden mindsets about nutrition and bring healthy, nutritious and convenient foods that taste great and improve people’s lives. The nutritional aspects of our products allow us to focus on making them more readily available and convenient to consumers rather than reformulating them to reduce fat, sodium, sugar or preservatives, which has been the focus of other consumer product companies.
BUSINESS ETHICS
Our Core Values of Integrity, Respect, Opportunity and Responsibility form the basis of our business performance and guide our everyday activities, including our giving programs. As part of our Core Values, Chiquita maintains a solid commitment to conducting business ethically, morally and in accordance with the law.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
A large part of our social responsibility efforts involve how they interact with our employees and stakeholders throughout the world. Their work practices, their approach to labor relations and their corporate culture all come into play on a daily basis.
More than a decade ago, they adopted the Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000) labor rights standard developed by Social Accountability International (SAI), which has been proven to be a very effective tool for measuring and improving our practices to better serve the communities in which we live and work.
SA8000 provides standards based on national laws, international human rights norms and the conventions of the International Labor Organization. Management system requirements ensure that these standards are consistently implemented over time, and independent audits and certification help measure progress and identify areas for improvement.
SA8000 enforces: