Correspondence
Email sent to the contact address for ESTS Global.
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 accreditations issued by your organisation. Our investigation has identified a number of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified seafood processing facilities in China using forced labor from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
ESTS is the accreditor listed in the MSC Supplier Directory for the following five processing plants: Rongcheng Haibo Seafood Co. Ltd., Rizhao Meijia Keyuan Foods Co. Ltd., Shandong Meijia Group Co. Ltd.; Rizhao Rirong Aquatic Products Co. Ltd.; and Rizhao Rongxing Food Co. Ltd. Your website states you undertake social audits using three of the four auditable standards recognised by the MSC, according to its October 2022 Labour Eligibility Requirements.
MSC accreditation was issued to the above five plants after each of them was known to have accepted Uyghurs though Chinese government labor transfer programs, and our investigation demonstrates the presence of Uyghur forced labor at all five sites over multi-year periods. 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 and obstruct freedom to terminate employment.
Does ESTS have any comment to make in light of the above information? Please respond to this email by close of business June 26, 2023."
The Outlaw Ocean Project sent a follow-up email to ESTS, saying: "I'm following up on our email dated June 21, 2023, to see if ESTS has any comment or clarification to make in response to our query. Could you please let us know by close of business September 19, 2023, noting that interactions are all on record."