On a wintry December night I thought I’d warm myself up with a nice hot cup of Mint Tea. For that I needed fresh mint, not the horrible stuff you buy in teabags so I drove to my Tesco to buy some.

I was shocked & surprised to find fresh Mint labelled as “Produce of West Bank”.

“Great!” was my first thought, this surely meant that Tesco was selling produce grown by Palestinian farmers? Right?

WRONG!

I emailed Tesco and asked them to tell me the name of the farm and whether this was under Palestinian or Israeli ‘control’? Basically I wanted to find out whose pockets my money was going to?

Attempt 1

As I hadn’t supplied a barcode they said they couldn’t confirm any details without this, fair enough. Off I went back to the Tesco and got the information they wanted along with any other information I could find on the pack.

Attempt 2

I emailed them back with the details and repeated my question, where was the Mint from in the West Bank?

They said they were “unable to provide the other details you requested as this is company sensitive Information. I can however, confirm it is in the occupied territories.”

Well I knew the last bit as it clearly said “Produce of West Bank” on the packet, I however accepted the argument that they could not give the name of the supplier but I wasn’t done yet!

Attempt 3

This time I went back and said that the basis for my query was to find out whether or not the produce was from Israeli Settlements, which are considered illegal under International and UN laws.

I wasn’t interested in the name of the supplier or farm all I wanted was a yes or no to the question

“Is the produce from a Settlement or a Palestinian farm, please can you confirm this for me?”

Their response – “I'm sorry but as the information you are requesting is company sensitive I'm unable to assist you further”

Attempt 4

We don’t give up that easily at MPACUK! The information requested was generic and did not even request the name of the city or town, there was no issue of confidentiality.

I refused to take no for an answer – I demanded to know the source and stated that I’d escalate the letter Tesco CEO Terry Leahy if they refused to confirm the information.

Consumers had a right to know if Tesco was sourcing products from entities deemed illegal under international law.

Their Response

“I've looked into this for you and I can confirm that our herbs are grown by Israelis in the West bank.”

In plain English this means

“Yes, Tesco is selling herbs grown on Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Settlements, which are illegal under International and UN laws and recognised as such by every country in the World except Israel.”

Partial Success

This example highlights the hard work of 1 person who got Tesco to admit to something which they previously classified as “Company Sensitive”

The admission by Tesco is a small victory, a bigger prize is to stop Tesco from stocking goods from illegal Israeli Settlements.

Act now!!!

You’ve seen what 1 person can do imagine what 20 people could achieve….imagine what our Mosques could achieve if they showed the same type of activism.

Write to Tesco and demand that Tesco take these products off their shelves.

• - Do not use rude or abusive language
  - Be firm but polite and highlight that Israeli Settlements are illegal under International and UN law
  - As the UK’s largest Supermarket Tesco has a responsibility to act ethically and sourcing products from illegal entities damages it’s image as a responsible Corporate citizen

Postal Address
Tesco Customer Services
Freepost SCO2298
Dundee DD1 9NF

Telephone: 0800 505555
Email: customer.service@tesco.co.uk

Also write to Sir Terry Leahy and ask that he use his position as Chief Executive of Tesco to stop the sale of Israeli Settlement Produce.

Send your letters marked Strictly Private & Confidential to;

Sir Terry Leahy
Chief Executive Tesco Plc
New Tesco House
Delamare Road
Cheshunt
Hertfordshire
England EN8 9SL

Please copy in MPACUK to any response that you receive by emailing us at info@mpacuk.org

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