Correspondence
Email to Ahold Delhaize regarding its companies Giant and Food Lion.
The email said: "I contacted you earlier this year regarding The Outlaw Ocean Project’s investigation into abuses in the Chinese fishing and seafood processing industries, as they relate to the supply chains of your brand Albert Heijn. I’m contacting you in light of our latest investigation which concerns the use of forced labor in China’s food processing industry, and a link we’ve discovered between companies engaged in such practices and one of your suppliers - High Liner Foods. Ahold Delhaize brands Giant and Food Lion stock a range of High Liner white fish products in the United States. High Liner has imported shipments of cod, pollock, haddock, yellowfin sole, ocean perch and flounder from Yantai Sanko Fisheries Co. Ltd., a seafood processor based in China. Yantai Sanko Fisheries Co. Ltd. has received persons from the Xinjiang region of China under a government labor transfer program since 2019 and until at least April 2023. High Liner has also imported shipments of yellowfin sole from Yantai Longwin Foods Co. Ltd. Yantai Longwin is linked to Yantai Sanko through corporate ownership. Our investigation has also found Uyghurs working at Yantai Longwin, since August 2020 and until as recently as March 2023. The United Nations, human rights organizations and academic experts agree that since 2018, the Chinese government has systematically subjected Xinjiang’s predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities to forced labor across the country via state-sanctioned employment programs which use coercive methods in worker enrollment and obstruct freedom to terminate employment. The U.S. has prohibited the importation of goods produced from state-imposed forced labor. Could you confirm whether white fish sourced from Yantai Sanko or Yantai Longwin has been used in any white fish products supplied by High Liner and sold by either Giant or Food Lion since 2019?"
Sjoerd Berveling, Manager Reputation & Communications for Ahold Delhaize's Global Communications Department replied: "At Ahold Delhaize we are committed to offering high quality products at a good value to our customers. As part of our Health and Sustainability Program, Ahold Delhaize and each of our local brands are also committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations in each of the countries in which we operate, ensuring that the parties that supply Ahold Delhaize brands with goods and services do the same, validating the origin of goods offered for sale by our brands, and maintaining a high standard of business ethics and regard for human rights throughout the supply chain. These Standards of Engagement set minimum standards for suppliers that are designed to ensure that Ahold Delhaize and its brands have visibility into all aspects of their supply chains and meet these objectives. As outlined in our Standards of Engagement, we require social audit reports (including amfori BSCI, SMETA or equivalent) from own-brand suppliers in high-risk countries and those reports cannot have serious non-compliances – what we call deal-breakers - like forced labor. You can read more about our approach to social compliance and what we do when there are deal-breakers in our Human Rights Report. Whenever there are allegations or reports of non-compliance with the Standards of Engagement, the Ahold Delhaize brands follow up on those. For more information about our standards of engagement please visit our website. If you have evidence of human rights violations, including forced labor, that are related to or involve our brands’ suppliers, we ask you to share it with us, and we will promptly investigate and address any findings."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Unfortunately, we are unable to share any documents or other materials with implicated companies in advance of publication. But I can confirm that our evidence includes state media articles describing government transfers of Xinjiang workers to Yantai Sanko, as well as photographic and video footage showing people from Xinjiang working at both Yantai Sanko and Yantai Longwin as recently as May 2023 and July 2023, respectively. You mention that Ahold Delhaize requires social audit reports from "own-brand suppliers in high-risk countries". Does this apply to High Liner? Do your standards of engagement apply to your second-tier suppliers, specifically the Chinese factories supplying High Liner referred to in our email dated August 23, 2023? Please be advised that our investigation further indicates that social audits, including Sedex Member Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) audits conducted by leading firms at Yantai Sanko Fisheries as well as a number of other Chinese seafood processing plants, have consistently failed to detect Uyghur forced labor over a period of multiple years."
Sjoerd Berveling emailed saying that Ahold Delhaize would not be able to meet the deadline and could they have more time.
Sjoerd Berveling emailed a statement from Ahold Delhaize: "As mentioned in our earlier response, we at Ahold Delhaize and our great local brands consider human rights of great importance and we remain committed to following up on allegations or reports of non-compliance with our Standards of Engagement. Ahold Delhaize’s Standards of Engagement apply to all suppliers, including High Liner and its production locations. However, we only require social audit reports from own-brand suppliers in high-risk countries. High Liner does not supply own-brand products to Food Lion or Giant Food. Based on the information you have shared with us; we have contacted our supplier High Liner requesting an investigation. We understand that you have also contacted the High Liner team and that they have already provided you with a statement as well as their social audit status. We would therefore also like to refer to High Liner's statement on this topic. We would like to emphasize that if you have evidence of human rights violations, including forced labor, that are related to or involve our brands’ suppliers, we ask that you share it with us. We will promptly investigate, address any findings, and take action if needed."
Email sent to the media relations team at Ahold Delhaize, saying: "Since we were last in contact with you, our ongoing investigation has turned up additional findings which we wanted to raise with you, as they relate to Giant’s supply chain.
According to our research, Canadian Fish Exporters supplies pollock under its ‘Buena Ventura’ brand to Giant.
Trade data seen by The Outlaw Ocean Project shows that Canadian Fish Exporters was the consignee for over 100 shipments of pollock from a Chinese company called Donggang Haimeng since 2019. We have uncovered evidence that Donggang Haimeng used North Korean labor after the December 2019 deadline for the repatriation of overseas North Korean workers required under United Nations Security Council sanctions. This evidence shows North Korean labor at Donggang Haimeng’s factory in Liaoning, China, as recently as 2023. Furthermore, under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), passed in 2017, the U.S. prohibits the import of any goods produced by North Korean nationals unless clear and convincing evidence is provided that indicates the materials were not made with forced labor.
While we understand that you may not be aware of the above issues, does Ahold Delhaize have any comment to make in response to this email?"
Sjoerd Berveling, Global Communiations Manager at Ahold Delhaize, emailed to ask for extra time to reply to the query.
Sjoerd Berveling replied for Ahold Delhaize: "Thank you for your email. At Ahold Delhaize and our great local brands we consider human rights of great importance. As part of our commitment to human rights, Ahold Delhaize and each of our local brands are also committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations in each of the countries in which we operate, ensuring that the parties that supply Ahold Delhaize brands with goods and services do the same, validating the origin of goods offered for sale by our brands, and maintaining a high standard of business ethics and regard for human rights throughout the supply chain. These Standards of Engagement set minimum standards for suppliers that are designed to ensure that Ahold Delhaize and its brands have visibility into all aspects of their supply chains and meet these objectives. As outlined in our Standards of Engagement, we require social audit reports (including amfori BSCI, SMETA or equivalent) from own-brand suppliers in high-risk countries and those reports cannot have serious non-compliances – what we call deal-breakers - like forced labor. You can read more about our approach to social compliance and what we do when there are deal-breakers in our Human Rights Report.
Whenever there are allegations or reports of non-compliance with the Standards of Engagement, the Ahold Delhaize brands follow up on those. For more information about our Standards of Engagement please visit our website.
Based on the information you have shared with us; we have contacted Canadian Fish Exporters, one of the suppliers of Ahold Delhaize’s brands for national brand products, not own-brand products. This supplier has not sourced from Donggang Haimeng Foodstuff Co. LTD since the end of December 2021, there are SMETA audit reports on file showing no evidence of forced labor during the period in question, until the end of December 2021.
We would like to emphasize that if you have evidence of human rights violations, including forced labor, that are related to or involve our brands’ suppliers, we ask that you share it with us. We will promptly investigate, address any findings and take action if needed."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Thank you very much for coming back to us on this, and for following up with your supplier. The most recent shipment consigned to Canadian Fish Exporters from Donggang Haimeng had an arrival date of February 23, 2022, according to the trade records we’ve seen (these trade records are from the ImportGenius database). Would it be possible for you to share those audit reports with us, or confirm who carried them out? Should we uncover any further findings pertaining to your supply chain, we will certainly bring those to your attention. We are unable to share the specific evidential materials relating to Donggang Haimeng at this point, but can say that these include video taken inside the plant this year."
Sjoerd Berveling replied for Ahold Delhaize: "Thank you for your message. These questions are best asked directly to the team at Canadian Fish Exporters."
A coalition of eighteen NGOs wrote to thirteen major seafood distributors and retailers, including Ahold Delhaize, asking a series of questions connected to The Outlaw Ocean Project's reporting. Their email to Ahold Delhaize said: "Dear Ahold Delhaize,
We are writing to you on behalf of a consortium of human rights NGOs requesting an update on the steps Ahold Delhaize has taken following the investigation published by The Outlaw Ocean Project. The investigation highlighted concerns about state-imposed Uyghur and North Korean forced labor across the Chinese seafood processing facilities, including within your company’s supply chain.
Given the seriousness of these findings, we are keen to learn about the progress of your internal investigations that your company stated it would conduct. Please refer to the attached letter for detailed inquiries. We look forward to your prompt response by August 2, 2024.
Sincerely, Ethan Hee-Seok Shin, Transitional Justice Working Group Krysta Bisnauth, Freedom United"
The attached letter read:
"Dear Ahold Delhaize,
The undersigned organizations, experts on human rights, labor rights, Uyghur rights, North Korean rights, and trade law, are requesting an update on the steps Ahold Delhaize committed to take following the publication of a series of investigations published by The Outlaw Ocean Project. The findings on the investigations, which shed light on the use of state-imposed forced labor in your company’s seafood supply chain, are deeply concerning and demand immediate attention from all stakeholders in the industry.
In 2023, Ahold Delhaize stated it would investigate exposure to state-imposed forced labor in its downstream supply chains. Given the severity of the harms reported and the gravity of the situation and the potential impact on human rights and environmental sustainability, we are keen to learn about the progress of these investigations into your company's seafood supply chain.
We ask that you provide us with an update on the following points:
- The due diligence conducted to identify whether direct Chinese suppliers or sub-suppliers are using, or at risk of using, Uyghur or North Korean forced labor;
- Any preliminary findings or outcomes from these investigations, e.g., has your company identified Chinese suppliers or sub-suppliers using or at risk of using Uyghur or North Korean forced labor;
- Steps your company has taken or leverage used to cease supplier’s or sub-supplier’s participation in state-imposed forced labor programs, including poverty alleviation programs;
- Where suppliers or sub-suppliers did not cease their participation, or agree to a time bound plan to do so, whether your company disengaged, or has plans to disengage, from that business relationship;
- Steps your company has taken or plans to take to report this information to shareholders (if applicable), companies within your supply chain, consumers, or other stakeholders or otherwise make these findings publicly available.
We believe that maintaining a supply chain free from forced labor is not only a legal and ethical imperative, but also crucial for the sustainability of the seafood industry. Your prompt response and continued diligence in this matter are essential for upholding these standards. Please respond to these questions within three weeks of receipt. Information provided will inform ongoing investigations into forced labor in seafood supply chains.
Sincerely, Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) Hubert Younghwan Lee, Executive Director
Human Trafficking Legal Center Martina Vandenberg, Founder and President
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) Greg Scarlatoiu, Executive Director
Advocates for Public Interest Law (APIL) Shin Young Chung, Attorney
HanVoice Sean Chung, Chief Executive Officer
The Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR) Joanna Hosaniak, Deputy Director General
Corporate Accountability Lab Charity Ryerson, Executive Director and Founder
International Corporate Accountability Roundtable David McKean Deputy Director
Humanity United Action Emily Risko, Associate Program Manager - Forced Labor & Human Trafficking
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Gaelle Dusepulchre, Deputy Director - Business, Human Rights and Environment
Uyghur American Association Elfidar Iltebir, President
Anti-Slavery International Chloe Cranston, Head of Thematic Advocacy Programmes
Uyghur Human Rights Project Omer Kanat, Executive Director
Freedom United Krysta Bisnauth, Advocacy Manager
Global Labor Justice Allison Gill, Legal Director
Investor Alliance for Human Rights Anita Dorett, Director
Campaign For Uyghurs Rushan Abbas, Founder And Executive Director
Worker Rights Consortium Jewher Ilham, Forced Labor Project Coordinator"
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed: "We saw that Ahold Delhaize cited our investigative work in its recently published Human Rights Report 2024. We have some questions for the company on foot of this portion of the report, which describes Ahold Delhaize’s actions in response to the concerns raised in our work.
The report says: “In response to the allegations brought to our attention, Ahold Delhaize and the brands immediately followed up with their direct suppliers, regardless of whether they supplied national or own brand products, and asked them to conduct a full investigation, determine whether the brands receive products from the facilities mentioned, and take appropriate action. The supplier facilities covered in these investigations that indirectly provided own brand seafood to Ahold Delhaize brands had valid social compliance audits on file that did not show evidence of forced labor. So far, all suppliers conducted investigations and took appropriate action to address the allegations.”
Question 1: What specifically are the “appropriate actions” that Ahold Delhaize’s suppliers have taken?
The report goes on to say: “We are also actively engaging with the social audit and seafood programs involved, including amfori BSCI, Sedex, ASC and BAP, to follow up on these cases and on the general concerns about human rights violations in global seafood supply chains.”
Question 2: How is Ahold Delhaize “actively engaging” with the auditing and certification bodies that overlooked the presence of state-sponsored forced labor?
Please let us know Ahold Delhaize’s responses to the above questions by close of business on August 2, 2024, noting that all interactions remain on record."
Sjoerd Berveling emailed a statement from Ahold Delhaize: "Thank you for your email. Ahold Delhaize is committed to being transparent about its progress on human rights, including how allegations are addressed. For that reason, a case study on The Outlaw Ocean Project was included in the Human Rights Report 2024.
Ahold Delhaize expects suppliers to take allegations seriously, conduct investigations and take effective remedial measures if needed. At a minimum, we expect our suppliers to comply to our Standards of Engagement and apply appropriate measures when it comes to deal-breakers (i.e. forced labor). That includes suspending orders from the (sub-)supplier facilities suspected of having deal-breakers pending the investigation, and based on the evidence of the investigation, set up an action plan to get the violation or adverse impact remediated and mitigate the risk for the future, if the issue is not – or cannot be – remediated, to ultimately end the business relationship.
In response to the allegations that were brought to our attention after the publication of investigations by The Outlaw Ocean Project, Ahold Delhaize and the relevant brands immediately followed up with their direct national and own brand suppliers involved and asked them to conduct a full investigation, determine whether Ahold Delhaize brands received products from the facilities mentioned, and, to the extent that issues were found, take appropriate action to address the allegations.
All of our direct suppliers covered by your investigations have expressed their commitment to human rights, have responded to our requests for information on their investigations and shared how they were responding to the allegations. We remain in close contact with our direct national and own brand suppliers and are committed to following up on allegations of human rights violations. It is our understanding that these suppliers have also responded to your organization directly.
Ahold Delhaize engages regularly with social standards that are relevant in the context of seafood. We have followed up with amfori BSCI, BAP, ASC and Sedex regarding the issues raised in your reporting and they have conducted or are conducting investigations into the allegations. In addition, in our regular on-going engagements with amfori BSCI, BAP, ASC and Sedex, we participate in consultations and in working groups to address, among others, audit integrity and the development of their standards. We refer to their direct responses of these social standards to The Outlaw Ocean Project for more details.
Ahold Delhaize and its brands remain fully committed to following up on allegations of human rights abuses, investigating those together with the affected suppliers and ensuring that appropriate action is taken."
Marloes Bruin, the manager of Human Rights at Ahold Delhaize responded to the letter from the NGO coalition: "Dear Ethan and Krysta,
Thank you for your email. In return to your letter, we hereby send you the update that we have also sent today to The Outlaw Ocean Project:
Ahold Delhaize is committed to being transparent about its progress on human rights, including how allegations are addressed. For that reason, a case study on The Outlaw Ocean Project was included in the Human Rights Report 2024.
Ahold Delhaize expects suppliers to take allegations seriously, conduct investigations and take effective remedial measures if needed. At a minimum, we expect our suppliers to comply to our Standards of Engagement and apply appropriate measures when it comes to deal-breakers (i.e. forced labor). That includes suspending orders from the (sub-)supplier facilities suspected of having deal-breakers pending the investigation, and based on the evidence of the investigation, set up an action plan to get the violation or adverse impact remediated and mitigate the risk for the future, if the issue is not – or cannot be – remediated, to ultimately end the business relationship.
In response to the allegations that were brought to our attention after the publication of investigations by The Outlaw Ocean Project, Ahold Delhaize and the relevant brands immediately followed up with their direct national and own brand suppliers involved and asked them to conduct a full investigation, determine whether Ahold Delhaize brands received products from the facilities mentioned, and, to the extent that issues were found, take appropriate action to address the allegations.
All of our direct suppliers covered by The Ocean Outlaw project's investigations have expressed their commitment to human rights, have responded to our requests for information on their investigations and shared how they were responding to the allegations. We remain in close contact with our direct national and own brand suppliers and are committed to following up on allegations of human rights violations. It is our understanding that these suppliers have also responded to The Outlaw Ocean Project directly.
Ahold Delhaize engages regularly with social standards that are relevant in the context of seafood. We have followed up with amfori BSCI, BAP, ASC and Sedex regarding the issues raised in the Outlaw Ocean's reporting and they have conducted or are conducting investigations into the allegations. In addition, in our regular on-going engagements with amfori BSCI, BAP, ASC and Sedex, we participate in consultations and in working groups to address, among others, audit integrity and the development of their standards. We refer to the direct responses of these social standards to The Outlaw Ocean Project for more details.
Ahold Delhaize and its brands remain fully committed to following up on allegations of human rights abuses, investigating those together with the affected suppliers and ensuring that appropriate action is taken."