Correspondence
Email sent to Aldi North's press office.
The email said: "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 - Nomad Foods.
Aldi Nord sells Iglo brand white fish products. Our research shows that Northseafood Holland and Unibond Seafood International are white fish suppliers to Nomad Foods brands, which include the Iglo, Birds Eye and Findus ranges retailing across Europe.
Northseafood Holland has imported shipments of white fish, including pollock, from the processor, Yantai Sanko Fisheries Co. Ltd., 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.
Northseafood Holland B.V. has also been supplied white fish by Yantai Longwin Foods Co. Ltd., a company linked to Yantai Sanko Fisheries through corporate ownership. Our investigation has found Uyghurs working at Yantai Longwin Foods Co. Ltd. since at least 2020 and until at least July 2023.
Unibond Seafood has imported shipments of white fish, including cod and pollock, from Qingdao Tianyuan Aquatic Foodstuff Co. Ltd. since the Chinese plant is known to have first started using Xinjiang labor in 2018. Our evidence demonstrates the presence of Uyghur workers at Qingdao Tianyuan as recently as May 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 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.
Could you confirm whether white fish sourced from Yantai Sanko, Yantai Longwin and Qingdao Tianyuan has been used in any of the Iglo branded products sold by Aldi Nord since 2018?
Does Aldi Nord have any comment or clarification to make regarding the above information? Please respond by close of business September 8, 2023, and note that all interactions are fully on record."
Marina Fuhrmann, Junior Manager CR Competence Center at Aldi Nord, replied with a statement from Aldi Nord: "At ALDI, we are committed to respecting human rights and improving living as well as working conditions throughout all our supply chains. We’re focusing on any adverse impact on human rights that we might cause, contribute to or are linked to.
Therefore, we are taking these allegations very seriously, and we are in close contact with all relevant suppliers to get more information.
Furthermore, we are in the process of conducting internal investigations to understand the extent of the allegations and evaluate the cause to take appropriate actions. Until we have clarity on the described matter, we refrain from further business activities with the described production sites.
ALDI maintains a rigorous due diligence process, which we regularly review and revise according to the principle of continuous improvement.
Any reported instances of forced labour will be followed up on at the earliest opportunity, with appropriate corrective actions and business consequences being imposed if necessary.
We appreciate the direct exchange. Further details to support our investigations are welcome."
The Outlaw Ocean Project's publishing partner in Germany, Die Zeit, also contacted Aldi North for comment.
Christian Schneider, Corporate Communications at Aldi North, replied with a statement from the group, saying: ""I am pleased to respond to your inquiry on behalf of the ALDI North Group. When purchasing fish and seafood, the requirements of our due diligence process and the International Catalogue of Requirements (ICOR) are binding. The requirements formulated therein include both ecological and social aspects and in some cases go well beyond legal standards.
Before entering into contracts, we review various sources to conduct risk assessments. We want to ensure that our requirements regarding raw materials, fisheries and main production sites are met. We are also helped in this by externally recognized certification systems (e.g. Marine Stewardship Council, MSC), with which we create the greatest possible transparency. A large part of our fish and seafood range is already certified .
In addition, we monitor compliance with our requirements on a risk-oriented basis and on an ad hoc basis through our own audits and audits conducted by independent third parties. In high-risk countries, we require main production sites to have a valid social audit, such as Amfori BSCI or SA8000, and verify this when tenders are invited.
Further information on our requirements, certifications and testing processes can be found here: Eating fish with a clear conscience (aldi-nord.de) Our commitment to human rights (aldi-nord.de)
For all fish and seafood, a risk assessment is carried out in cooperation with Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP). Our business partners report quarterly on the products sold and their origin. If a serious violation - as defined in our standards - is identified, a contractually defined process comes into effect. Serious violations at ALDI are defined as, among others, cases of forced labor or illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUU). We expect all suppliers to correct any deficiencies as quickly as possible in accordance with agreed corrective action plans. If our requirements and processes are not met, the possible consequences range from written warnings to termination of business relationships.
Following the information from The Outlaw Ocean Project, we immediately contacted our supplier, demanded clarification and excluded the production sites mentioned as a precaution. For further verification of the mentioned production sites, we will promptly conduct an ALDI Sustainability Assessment to evaluate the situation on site.
In a further step, we have also contacted all suppliers of pollock and squid products to gain clarity on pre-production sites. This will enable us to act quickly and consistently if further anomalies become known."
The Outlaw Ocean Project's publishing partner in Germany, Die Zeit, asked Aldi Nord for an update on its internal investigation into the findings of The Outlaw Ocean Project’s investigation.
Christian Schneider, Corporate Communications at Aldi North, replied. A summary in English of this response: Since The Outlaw Ocean Project first contacted Aldi Nord, the company has contacted all relevant suppliers and audits have been carried out. The company does not wish to comment publicly on the audit results, however, as a precautionary measure, it is not sourcing products from any of the production facilities mentioned in The Outlaw Ocean Project's research for the time being.
The response in its original language said: “Ergänzend zu den Ihnen bereits bekannten Inhalten kann ich Ihnen heute folgenden aktuellen Stand aus Sicht der Unternehmensgruppe ALDI Nord geben: Seit der ersten Anfrage von „The Outlaw Ocean Project“ haben wir uns mit allen relevanten Lieferanten in Verbindung gesetzt und es wurden Audits durchgeführt. Bitte beachten Sie, dass wir uns nicht öffentlich zu den Prüfergebnissen äußern möchten. Als Vorsichtsmaßnahme beziehen wir jedoch vorläufig keine Produkte aus sämtlichen in der Recherche von „The Outlaw Ocean Project“ genannten Produktionsstätten. Freundliche Grüße”
Email sent to Aldi, saying: "Since we were last in contact with you, we have made additional findings in our ongoing investigation into China’s seafood processing industry which we wanted to raise with you as they relate to Aldi in Portugal. We have uncovered evidence that a Chinese company called Donggang Jinhui Foodstuff 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 the presence of North Korean labor at Donggang Jinhui’s factory in Liaoning, China, as recently as 2023. Packaging analysis shows Donggang Jinhui’s EU export approval code on Riberalves salted pollock sold by Aldi in Portugal. While we appreciate that you may not be aware of the above issues, does Aldi have any comment to make in response to this email? Can you confirm if any products supplied by Donggang Jinhui to Riberalves, or other Aldi suppliers, have been sold by Aldi in other countries since December 2019?"
Marina Fuhrmann, Junior Manager CR Competence Center at Aldi Nord, replied: "Thank you for contacting us again. We have promptly followed up on the supply chain. Consultation with our supplier has shown that the production facility in question has not been delivering goods to ALDI Portugal for several weeks. There is no longer any relationship with this production facility and the named supplier does not supply any other ALDI Nord countries with pollock articles. To give us the chance to better assess the general situation, please provide us with more details of your research results."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Thank you for your response and for sharing those details. As before, we really appreciate Aldi North's engagement on these issues. You said in your email “that the production facility in question has not been delivering goods to Aldi Portugal for several weeks”. Can you specify when this supply connection ceased? Do you still carry stock from this production facility, or has it all been sold by this time? We appreciate your interest in the evidence we have gathered, but at this stage of our investigation are unable to share materials. We can confirm that we have video evidence of North Korean labor at Donggang Jinhui’s factory in Liaoning province."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed Aldi Nord with a query about Aldi Portugal: "We last emailed you on December 7, 2023, concerning our ongoing investigation into the use of forced labor in China’s seafood processing industry. Since then, we have uncovered additional evidence which we wanted to raise with Aldi Portugal.
We have investigators on the ground in China who have been engaging with labor brokers directly involved with the transfer of North Korean workers to factories in China. Through this and other investigative means, including collecting online footage from the plants and interviews with workers recently returned to North Korea from China, we’ve found large numbers of North Korean workers at a range of seafood processing plants in Liaoning province, on China’s border with North Korea.
We have information that as recently as October 2023, there were hundreds of North Korean workers at Donggang Haimeng Foodstuff in Liaoning.
According to trade records seen by The Outlaw Ocean Project, Brasmar Comercio de Produtos Alimentares was the consignee for shipments of seafood from Donggang Haimeng in 2021.
Brasmar has supplied seafood to Aldi’s brands Golden Seafood and Tesouros do Mar, according to labels on the product packaging.
In light of this, we have the following questions for Aldi Portugal:
- While we understand that you may not be aware of the above issues, we want to ask if Aldi has any comment to make in response to this, or our previous, email?
- Can you confirm or deny if any seafood from Donggang Haimeng has been supplied to Aldi, by Brasmar or any other supplier, since December 2019?"
Marina Fuhrmann, Junior Manager CR Competence Center at Aldi Nord, replied: "In reference to your questions regarding Donggang Haimeng Foodstuff, we can share the following information:
We are currently conducting a data enquiry with our suppliers to get more detailed information and evaluate whether products have been sourced from the mentioned production facility. As this evaluation is still ongoing, we are unable to provide any detailed information at this time.
Regarding the situation at the Donggang Jinhui production facility we can confirm that ALDI Nord is still excluding this production facility from its supply chain.
In addition, we have been in conversation with our supplier Riberalves about the situation at the mentioned production facility and they also confirmed that they won’t be purchasing any products from Donggang Jinhui until further notice."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed Aldi: "Thank you for your email of February 5, 2024, and the updates you shared with us.
We have a further supply chain query for Aldi, arising from our ongoing investigation. We have information that as recently as December 2023, there were 50-70 workers at Dalian Haiqing Food Co. Ltd. in Liaoning.
According to trade records, Pickenpack was the consignee for multiple shipments of seafood from Dalian Haiqing in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Packaging analysis shows that Pickenpack has supplied seafood to Aldi’s Golden Seafood brand. Can you confirm or deny if Pickenpack has supplied any product from Dalian Haiqing to Aldi?
Thanks again for your continued engagement with our investigation."
Aldi Nord replied: "Thanks for informing us. In reference to Dalian Haiqing: we can confirm that our supplier Pickenpack did not deliver any product from this site to Aldi Nord. Thank you."
Aldi Nord emailed: "In regards to your ongoing investigations in the seafood supply chains, we were wondering if there is a possibility for further exchange between your organization and the ALDI Nord Group? We appreciate the opportunities to comment on your findings on specific production site basis, but would be keen to discuss your research, its implications for our supply chain or also expectations towards us in a broader sense. We believe that engagement with industry stakeholders is essential for us as retailer to continuously improve our due diligence processes and thus would welcome an opportunity to have an exchange with you. We look forward to your reply."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Thank you for your interest in the reporting and evidence gathered to date under our ongoing investigation. I’m sure you can understand that we are a journalism organization, not an advocacy organization. We do investigative reporting and we try to highlight problems worth being fixed. We try to do so in a rigorous but fair way. We do not, however, tend to cross too far over the line into advocating specific solutions to these problems.
As a journalism outlet, it would not be appropriate for us to present solutions or plans of action to Aldi on how to better strengthen its supply chain against the risk highlighted in our reporting. We can describe what we found in our investigation - as we have done - and report what we hear from experts about supply chains generally concerning the feasibility of doing this type of watchdog work in a place like China or on fishing ships generally.
As part of our reporting, we have sought the views of a range of stakeholders (such as academics, industry experts and government officials) on what they suggest should be done to improve supply chain traceability and accountability when it comes to labor or marine concerns. You can find that research compiled on the Solutions Page of our website. We also published a substack in January 2024 specifically relating to common flaws in social audits as cited by federal agencies.
We really appreciate you reaching out and welcome engagement from you on these matters. We are happy to have a discussion about what steps you intend to take and we can perhaps ask questions that could help guide you on those steps. But we would need for that interaction to remain on record and in writing so that we stick with a leaning toward transparency on any such engagements. If you are ok with that on-record in-writing method of proceeding then by all means please send us questions you have about our reporting, or update us on what steps you are possibly taking going forward."