Correspondence
Email sent to John McCarrick, Media Relations at Amfori, and to the organization's contact address.
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 with an auditable standard managed by your organisation.
Our investigation has identified 11 Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified seafood processing facilities in China using forced labor from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
The MSC certificates were issued after all 11 processing plants are known to have accepted Uyghurs through Chinese government labor transfer programs, and the investigation demonstrates the presence of Uyghur forced labor over a multi-year period at most of the plants.
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 schemes which use coercive methods in worker enrolment.
Your organization oversees the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) standard, one of the four auditable standards recognized by the MSC according to its October 2022 Labour Eligibility Requirements.
Does amfori have any comment to make in light of the above information? Please respond to this email by close of business June 23, 2023."
Guggi Laryea, Stakeholder Engagement Senior Manager at Amfori, replied by email, saying: "Sorry we have not able to respond to your enquiry. In order to do so we would need to have more information regarding the particular processing plants you are referring to for us to investigate whether there was any involvement of BSCI. Please also note that MSC certification does not necessarily mean BSCI compliance."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Thank you for your engagement, I am including the list of processing plants below. Please respond to this email by close of business June 27, 2023.
Rongcheng Haibo Seafood Co. Ltd. (MSC-C-59738) was certified 28 September 2022. The MSC certification was issued after the factory is known to have accepted Uyghurs through a Chinese government labor transfer program. Our investigation demonstrates the presence of Uyghur forced labor at the site over a multi-year period, including within two weeks of the factory receiving its MSC accreditation.
Shandong Haidu Ocean Product Co. Ltd (MSC-C-57659) was certified 30 August 2022. The MSC certification was issued after the factory is known to have accepted Uyghurs through a Chinese government labor transfer program. Our investigation demonstrates the presence of Uyghur forced labor at the site over a multi-year period.
Qingdao Tianyuan Aquatic Foodstuffs Co. Ltd. (MSC-C-52638) was certified 12 December 2022. The MSC certification was issued after the factory is known to have accepted Uyghurs through a Chinese government labor transfer program. Our investigation demonstrates the presence of Uyghur forced labor at the site over a multi-year period, including within two weeks of the factory receiving its MSC accreditation.
Yantai Sanko Fisheries Co. Ltd. (MSC-C-51794) was certified 23 November 2022. The MSC certification was issued after the factory is known to have accepted Uyghurs through a Chinese government labor transfer program. Our investigation demonstrates the presence of Uyghur forced labor at the site over a multi-year period, including within one week of the factory receiving its MSC accreditation.
Rizhao Meijia Keyuan Foods Co. Ltd. (MSC-C-53370) was certified 13 March 2023. The MSC certification was issued after the factory is known to have accepted Uyghurs through a Chinese government labor transfer program. Our investigation demonstrates the presence of Uyghur forced labor at the site over a multi-year period, including within two weeks of the factory receiving its MSC accreditation.
Shandong Meijia Group Co. Ltd. (MSC-C-51912) was certified 13 March 2023. The MSC certification was issued after the company is known to have accepted Uyghurs through a Chinese government labor transfer program.
Rizhao Rirong Aquatic Products And Foods Co. Ltd. (MSC-C-55351) was certified 7 June 2023. The MSC certification was issued after the factory is known to have accepted Uyghurs through a Chinese government labor transfer program. Our investigation demonstrates the presence of Uyghur forced labor at the site over a multi-year period, including within two weeks of the factory receiving its MSC accreditation.
Rizhao Rongxing Co. Ltd. (MSC-C-53499) was certified 24 May 2023. The MSC certification was issued after the factory is known to have accepted Uyghurs through a Chinese government labor transfer program. Our investigation demonstrates the presence of Uyghur forced labor at the site over a multi-year period, including within two weeks of the factory receiving its MSC accreditation.
Rongcheng Taiming Foods Co. Ltd. (MSC-C-57091), Rongcheng Huiying Foods Co. Ltd. (MSC-C-57161) and Shandong Lanrun Aquatic Co. Ltd. (MSC-C-57565) were certified 22 October 2022, 18 January 2023 and 15 May 2023, respectively. The MSC certifications were issued after our intelligence indicates the parent companies of the factories are known to have accepted Uyghurs through a Chinese government labor transfer program."
Amfori replied: "Thanks for this information. Given the work it would require look into each of these processing plants, I do not believe it will be possible to get back to you by close of business tomorrow. Note in particular that we have to contact our representatives in a different time zone who have already closed business today. We will however endeavour to get back to you as soon as we can. I trust you understand our position."
Amfori replied: "We have already been able to look into the eleven processed plants you listed below. Our research shows that none of these eleven plants have received an amfori BSCI audit.
It is important to note that while amfori BSCI is recognized by MSC this does not mean that every MSC certified plant has received an amfori audit.
Nevertheless, thanks for sharing this information. amfori’s stance against forced labour is set out in the amfori BSCI Code of Conduct (CoC). The Code draws on important international labour standards protecting workers’ rights including ILO conventions and declarations, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises."