Kraft and Cadbury: the UK’s most public takeover in a long while. But amid the froth, there remains plenty of uncertainty over whether this deal is harmful to Cadbury’s good work in sustainable sourcing.

Kraft and the Fairtrade Foundation don’t always get on. The food manufacturer has previously claimed the movement only dealt with a small number of companies and came under fire from Oxfam for undermining the Fairtrade message.

Cadbury on the other hand is perceived, especially in the UK,  as long having had ethical business goals at its heart and announced it has 100 farming communities active in the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership following its conversion to Fairtrade in the UK and Ireland in 2009.

Now, it wouldn’t be entirely necessary to add to the clamour of comment around whether they deal is just and fair. There’s plenty out there.

Still, the concern that Kraft might not honour the agreements that have been a big part of Cadbury’s sustainable sourcing strategy has made it to UK parliament.

Understandable, but whether or not this is justified is another matter. Kraft has long had a sustainable sourcing background, whereas Cadbury’s big deals with Fairtrade are more recent. Equally, Cadbury’s takeover of ‘ethical’ chocolate brand Green & Blacks raised cries over whether the goodwill of the brand would be completely devalued by the new owners. It seems hardly credible that that was only a few years ago.

Kraft claims it will honour existing agreements – indeed they might be thought to be part of the intellectual property of Cadbury. Equally it has its own sustainability drive which is viewed entirely differently on either side of the Atlantic – while British commentators seem concerned, the US views Kraft’s sustainability efforts very highly.

What this deal most harms, in the short term – rightly or wrongly – is Cadbury’s reputation in the UK as a sustainable brand. But when the dust has settled, the scrutiny should be on whether its policies are up to standard, regardless of the deals it has made along the way.

The resulting company will be one of exceptional size and able to leverage particular influence across supply chains. If it fails to use this opportunity to manage its sourcing responsibly, that’s when it should be judged.