Business News Network, Canada
May 5 2008
Nestle caught in free disc conflict
BNN.ca staff
May 05, 2008
Food giant Nestle has been forced to apologize to Azerbaijan after a
free CD included in breakfast food accused the former Soviet state of
provoking war with its neighbour, Armenia.
Nestle has halted distribution of the CDs, aimed at children and
distributed across Russia, which said Azerbaijan had provoked a war
with Armenia over the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh territory.
Despite a 1994 ceasefire, the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh remains
highly sensitive in both countries.
"We have sent an official letter expressing discontent and Nestle
offered apologies and withdrew all the CDs which had been
distributed," said an Azeri Foreign Ministry spokesman. The CDs were
not distributed in Azerbaijan itself.
The CD was being distributed across Russia during April with two
breakfast products and contained data about different
countries. Nestle has now temporarily halted the distribution, but
intends to revise the discs and resume production.
Andrey Bader, Nestle’s corporate affairs director for Russia, said he
could not estimate the cost to the company.
"Every measure which was possible has been taken," said Bader. "Nestle
took time to officially apologize with its consumers, with a recorded
speech on Azeri TV, we brought this in a very loud way to consumers."