Correspondence
Email sent to the press contact at Coop received an out of office, so an email with the same text was sent to the alternative address indicated in the out of office note.
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 a company engaged in such practices and a supplier in your supply chain - Yantai Sanko Fisheries.
According to our research, Coop Shop in Italy stocks Findus fish products produced by Northseafood Holland BV.
Northseafood Holland BV has imported shipments of fish 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 state-imposed forced labor transfer program since 2019 and until at least April 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. The U.S. has prohibited the importation of goods produced from state-imposed forced labor.
Does Coop have any comment or clarification to make regarding the above information? Please let us know by close of business on August 4, 2023."