A Statement from the Chair and MD

Nicola Taylor • December 6, 2024

Statement Regarding Products from Eswatini Kitchen

As some of our customers are aware, it came to our attention on 27th November that there is a quality issue with our Peach and Ginger Jam that we source from our supplier, Eswatini Kitchen.


We are investigating the issues. We have sent samples to an independent laboratory for testing to help us understand the issue and whether it impacts other products from the same production run. We are also working closely with Eswatini Kitchen to identify the root cause and prevent it from happening again.


As of 6 December, we are still awaiting the lab results and on further feedback from Eswatini Kitchen. We will keep you updated as soon as we have more information and issue further instructions as appropriate.



In the meantime, the guidance remains the same: we advise that you do not sell or consume the products listed on the original email (see below for reminder of the list). Please be aware that products with gold lids are from a previous production run and are NOT impacted. We have now included a photo to show where the producer details can be found to help you identify the products: 

Please also be assured that this issue is isolated to the Eswatini Kitchen product range and these products are no longer available on our website. The rest of our Christmas gifting range is not affected as we source these products from other suppliers. 


As a small social enterprise, this situation has been incredibly challenging for us and has come at a time of many other pressures. Like many small businesses, we rely on sales in the lead up to Christmas to keep us afloat throughout the year, sustaining five jobs here in Paisley, enabling us to work directly with and support marginalised producers in four African countries as well as supporting other fair trade businesses and also tackling poverty here in the UK.


As a valued customer, your support up has been the reason we’ve been able to continue running our social enterprise and trading fairly. If you can, we ask that you keep buying from our Christmas gift range and across our wider range True Origin | Food that has True Impact at Origin – True Origin Retail .


Thank you for your patience and understanding and for supporting fair trade. This really does mean the world to us. 

If you have any further questions or would like to discuss ways to support us, please get in touch: info@trueorigin.org.uk


Mary Popple and Tracy Mitchell



Products affected are listed below and also Gift Packs that contain any of these items:


  • Medium Curry Sauce
  • Swazi Fire
  • Lime Pickle
  • Mango Pickle
  • Vegetable Pickle
  • Hot Mango Chutney
  • Mixed Fruit Chutney
  • Pineapple Chutney
  • Lime Marmalade
  • Orange Marmalade
  • Orange & Cinnamon Marmalade
  • Marula Jelly
  • Peach & Ginger Jam
  • Ruby Grapefruit Marmalade
  • Sweet Piquante Peppers


By Angus Coull March 26, 2025
After six years of leadership, Mary Popple has retired from her role as Chair of the True Origin Board to assume the role as an ordinary board member. She leaves a legacy of steadfast, values-led leadership, resilience and commitment to Fair Trade during a period of significant transition for the social enterprise. First appointed to the True Origin Board in 2013, Mary became the first woman to take on the role of Chair in April 2019. Her journey into the position was shaped by a successful career in the IT industry and a passion for Fair Trade. Mary was an active member of the influential St Andrews Fair Trade group which successfully campaigned to designate the town as a Fairtrade area, and for The Open Golf championship to become the first UK sports tournament to commit to using Fairtrade products. This was complemented with over twenty years’ experience of involvement in other trade justice and development opportunities for women. During her six-year tenure as Chair of the True Origin board, Mary strategically led the social enterprise through a challenging external environment at a challenging time for many small businesses. Less than a year into her new role, the Covid pandemic emerged, causing significant uncertainty for staff, producers and customers as well as disruption in global supply chains. The war in Ukraine and cost-of-living crisis soon followed. Despite the challenges, under Mary’s leadership, True Origin generated over £2.3million in sales income that included £733,000 worth of Kilombero rice from Malawi. That’s equivalent to 245 tonnes or nearly 5 million servings of rice! The sale of the rice provides families in Malawi, one of the least developed countries in the world, with sustainable incomes and better food security. Mary played an instrumental role in rolling out the social enterprise’s rebrand and positioning the organisation as the go-to place for fair and fine products under the new True Origin banner. The product range subsequently increased during her tenure, solidifying True Origin’s reputation in the fine foods market. New products included a range of condiments such the soon-to-become both a customer favourite and one of Mary’s favourite products, sun-dried fig balsamic reduction as well as the popular beer bread of which over 150,000 packets were sold during her term. Mary’s leadership as Chair will also be remembered for her values-led approach, guiding the organisation to decisions with its founding fair trade principles in mind and the interests of producers always at the forefront. She invested time in expanding the board’s skillset and further developing the organisation’s robust governance procedures, upholding True Origin’s commitment to transparency with its stakeholders and leaving the organisation in a strong position to tackle future challenges. She also brought an instinctive knowledge of Fair Trade customers in Scotland and beyond to the role.
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