Correspondence
Email sent to the contact address for High Liner Foods.
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 your supply chain.
Your supplier Yantai Sanko Fisheries Co. Ltd. has received persons from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China under the state-imposed labor transfer program as recently as 2022.
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 enrollment.
Does High Liner Foods Inc. have any comment or statement to make in light of the above information? Please respond to this email by close of business May 25, 2023."
Jennifer Bell, Vice President of Communications at High Liner, emailed: “High Liner Foods takes these allegations very seriously. We have researched the claims made in your note extensively within our Supply Chain team and specifically with our supplier Yantai Sanko Fisheries in China. We can confirm that our Procurement team, based in Dalian, China that Yantai Sanko has never received any workers under a state-imposed labor transfer program. High Liner Foods maintains strict adherence to our Supplier Code of Conduct as part of our supplier approval process. Additionally, Yantai Sanko was successfully audited in September 2022 by a 3rd party auditor using the SMETA social audit standard.”
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Our research has found that many social audit schemes have failed to identify Uyghur labor at Chinese plants. We’ve also found multiple state media articles confirming that Yantai Sanko does indeed take government transfers of persons from Xinjiang. There are also videos and photos that show Uyghur workers at the plant as recently as April 2023. Who carried out the SMETA social audit you refer to in your statement?
Also, public records show that, since 2019, the Department of Agriculture has awarded eight procurement contracts to High Liner Foods (USA). Can you clarify if High Liner sourced any product from Yantai Sanko, or any other Chinese supplier, to fulfill any of the Department of Agriculture contracts, in full or in part?"
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed High Liner Foods: "Our investigation continues to surface additional questions in relation to your company’s supply chain. High Liner imports yellowfin sole from Yantai Longwin Foods Co. Ltd., according to partial trade data showing the most recent import as December 12, 2022.
Yantai Longwin is linked to the company mentioned in our previous communications, Yantai Sanko Fisheries, through corporate ownership. Our investigation has also found Uyghurs working at Yantai Longwin, since August 2020 and until as recently as March 2023.
High Liner has imported pollock from Qingdao UZP Foods Processing Co. Ltd., a Chinese processing plant operated by Unibond Seafood International. Unibond Seafood is supplied pollock and cod by Qingdao Tianyuan Aquatic Products. Our findings demonstrate Uyghur forced labor at Qingdao Tianyuan from as early as 2018 and until as recently as May 2023.
We understand that High Liner is the long-term principal supplier of seafood to McDonald's Canada, including pollock for the Filet-o-Fish patties served across Canada.
We have the following questions:
- Could you confirm whether any of the various seafoods sourced from your suppliers Yantai Sanko, Yantai Longwin and Unibond Seafood have been used in any of the High Liner products available in North American retail markets?
- Could you confirm whether any of the various seafoods sourced from your suppliers Yantai Sanko and Unibond Seafood have been used in any McDonald's Canada menu offerings?
Please respond to this query, as well as the concerns raised in our email sent July 20, 2023, by close of business August 16, 2023.
I’m sure High Liner can appreciate that, given the role the company plays in North American frozen food supply chains, there is keen public interest in your response to our findings, especially as they relate to the public procurement we asked about in our previous email."
Jennifer Bell,Vice President of Communications at High Liner, replied: "Thank you again for reaching out – happy to provide you with a response on behalf of High Liner Foods: Could you confirm whether any of the various seafoods sourced from your suppliers Yantai Sanko and Unibond Seafood have been used in any McDonald's Canada menu offerings? McDonald's Canada only sources Alaska Pollock for their Filet-O-Fish, which is 100% certified sustainable to the Marine Stewardship Council Chain of Custody Standard. The Pollock is processed in Alaska, US, and Filet-O-Fish is produced in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Can you clarify if High Liner sourced any product from Yantai Sanko, or any other Chinese supplier, to fulfill any of the Department of Agriculture contracts, in full or in part? High Liner Foods has not sourced product from any Chinese supplier to fulfill any of the Department of Agriculture contracts.
Who carried out the SMETA social audit you refer to in your statement? Unfortunately, we are prohibited from providing you with the name of the third-party audit firm per the terms of our confidentiality agreement. As mentioned in my response to you on July 19th, we are conducting an internal investigation regarding this matter. As we indicated on July 19th, we take these allegations extremely seriously and a complete and thorough investigation is now ongoing. Please be assured that pending the outcome of the investigation, appropriate corrective action will be taken if required."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed Jennifer Bell at High Liner Foods: "High Liner recently announced the resignation of the CEO, Rod Hepponstall. Could you explain why he's stepping down?"
Jennifer Bell replied: "In response to your specific question, I can direct you to two releases that were issued recently by High Liner Foods. You can find the release that was issued when Rod’s resignation was announced here. Additionally, the High Liner Foods Board of Directors announced the appointment of our Interim CEO Paul Jewer on September 15th. Beyond that, we are unable to provide further comment regarding a personnel matter."
A statement dated August 29, 2023, was attached to the email and said: “High Liner Foods Incorporated announced today that the Board of Directors has accepted the resignation of Rod Hepponstall, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective on or before January 2, 2024. The Company will begin a comprehensive internal and external search for a President and CEO. Mr. Hepponstall has acted as director, President and Chief Executive Officer of High Liner Foods since May, 2018 and the board of directors would like to thank him for his years of service to the Company. Mr. Hepponstall will collaborate with the Company on a transition plan, and the Company will provide more information in due course.”
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed High Liner, saying: "Since we were last in contact with High Liner, we have made additional findings in our ongoing investigation into the use of forced labor in China’s seafood processing industry which we wanted to bring to your attention. 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 Dandong city, close to China’s border with North Korea. As part of this work, we have information that as recently as December 2023, there were 50-70 workers at Dalian Haiqing Food Co. Ltd. in Dandong.
According to trade records, High Liner Foods was the consignee for shipments of seafood, including pollock and cod, from Dalian Haiqing between August 2017 and August 2023. The use of North Korean workers was prohibited by the United Nations Security Council in 2017, with Resolution 2397. Furthermore, under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), passed in 2017, the United States prohibits the import of any goods produced by North Korean nationals. Like the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which pertains to Xinjiang labor, CAATSA has a "rebuttable presumption" whereby all North Korean workers are presumed to be state-sponsored forced labor.
As a result, we have several questions: 1) While we understand that you may not be aware of the above issues, we want to ask if High Liner has any comment about this information that we are presenting? 2) Can you please itemize for us which of your customers receive seafood tied to Dalian Haiqing? 3) Has High Liner conducted any social audits at this plant and if so what type, when, with what result, and were these audits unannounced? 4) If audits were indeed conducted at this plant, what - if any - language or process was included in those audits specifically to identify the presence of North Korean workers?"
Danijela Gveric, Communications Manager at High Liner Foods, replied: "Thank you for connecting with me. Jen will be back in office from vacation on Monday, January 15. I will ensure your request below is brought to her attention along with your deadline of January 22."
Jennifer Bell replied for High Liner: "Apologies for the delay in responding to your note from January 12th. I managed to squeeze in a week of holiday earlier this month and am just digging out of my inbox. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond to your query. I’m pleased to provide you with a statement from us (feel free to attribute to me). “High Liner Foods is committed to corporate social responsibility and supports the work that Outlaw Ocean is doing to ensure worker safety in China. We take these allegations very seriously and require strict adherence to our Supplier Code of Conduct as part of our supplier approval process. Upon receiving initial contact from Outlaw Ocean regarding these allegations, we researched the claims extensively across our Supply Chain and specifically with our supplier Dalian Haiqing. We can confirm that High Liner Foods has not done business with any operations located in Dandong. No products destined for High Liner Foods were produced in Dandong - either directly (shipped to North America) or indirectly (shipped to Dalian). Additionally, we have received written confirmation from our supplier that all Dalian Haiqing plants they operate are located in Dalian. High Liner Foods only imports from plants that are approved and audited and High Liner has never set up or approved any plants in the Dandong region.” As such, it would be helpful to us if you have some evidence regarding the allegations contained in your email that you could share; for example, it would be helpful to have more details such as a plant name and/or export number. I look forward to hearing from you. Have a great evening."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied, saying: "Thank you very much for your email and for High Liner’s continued engagement. To clarify, we are referring to a collection of plants at or near this location: Name: Dalian Haiqing Food (大连海青水产有限公司) Address: Floor 1-3, No. 9, Section 2, Jianshe Street, Zhuanghe City, Dalian, Liaoning Province (辽宁省 大连庄河市新华街道小寺委建设大街二段9号1-3层) We are aware that Dalian Haiqing Food has several plants under its umbrella at this general location. One of our investigators in China visited this site, providing video footage from the grounds. Our investigator who visited the plant was accompanied by a businessman who works with the plant and who said at the time of their visit there were 50-70 North Korean workers at the facilities. Another investigator on our team has communicated with North Korean workers ███ these facilities. North Korean women █████ have described in writing to us at The Outlaw Ocean Project a number of serious issues, including sexual abuse and forced prostitution. We also corresponded with a plant manager from Haiqing who ███ the North Korean workers. The information we have from our on-the-ground investigation is that North Koreans have been working at Haiqing’s facilities since at least 2021. Given the sensitive nature of these issues, and the safety concerns we have for our sources on the ground, we emphatically request of High Liner that none of this information is relayed to any Haiqing staff or other persons in China. If such details are conveyed back to China, there will likely be an attempt to identify who visited the plant on our behalf and/or who presently works there and communicated with us. And that could put workers and sources in grave danger."
Jennifer Bell emailed: "High Liner Foods would like to send you a follow up note, however a number of our leaders are traveling today and I’m just trying to get everyone’s eyes on my update. Could you provide me with clarity on timing? Is it possible for me to get you something by tomorrow morning?"
Jennifer Bell emailed: "Thank you for taking the time to respond to us earlier this week.
As we have said previously, we take issues relating to responsible labour practices and adherence to our Supplier Code of Conduct very seriously.
The use of any forced, bonded, indentured, slave and illegal prison or convict labour is a critical violation of High Liner Foods Supplier Code of Conduct. Accordingly, High Liner Foods is initiating an investigation into the issues raised in your email. As we prepare to conduct this investigation, please provide High Liner Foods with detailed information (addresses, etc.) regarding specific plants where the use of North Korean labour is alleged so we can determine whether any of the plants visited by Outlaw Ocean supply to High Liner Foods. We understand that there are five plants that Dalian Haiqing Food Co., Ltd. operates in the Dalian region. High Liner Foods has purchased products from three of these plants. In 2022 and 2023, we conducted third party audits of these plants, and the audit results indicated no presence of North Korean labour. Since receiving your original inquiry on January 12th, we have met with the supplier on several occasions and received repeated written and verbal confirmations from the supplier that North Korean labour is not being used in their plants.
Regarding the allegations of forced prostitution and sexual abuse that were raised in your email this week, we would encourage Outlaw Ocean to share such information with relevant authorities so any wrongdoing can be pursued. We will carefully consider Outlaw Ocean’s request not to relay any of this information to any Haiqing staff or other persons in China. Given that complying with the request could seriously limit our ability to pursue these issues with the supplier, would it be possible for us to hear directly from your investigator and the other individual(s) who visited the site and provided information to Outlaw Ocean?
Given the disturbing nature of the allegations included in your response this week, we have informed Dalian Haiqing Food Co., Ltd. that we will be suspending all business dealings with them effective immediately while further information is gathered and assessed for the purposes of our investigation. If Outlaw Ocean has additional relevant information, please send it to us at your earliest convenience. We thank you again for taking the time to correspond."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Thank you for your email and for taking seriously the safety concerns that we raised.
We understand your interest in additional details from our research so that you can conduct your own thorough investigation. I’m sure you can understand that given the extremely sensitive nature of this reporting, there is a particularly acute need for us to protect our sources as best we can. This includes those who visited the Haiqing site for us and any North Koreans or others ███ who have communicated with us.
We have some outstanding questions for High Liner, and some new ones in light of your email dated January 25, 2024: Can you confirm which three Haiqing plants High Liner has purchased from?
Can you please itemize for us which of your customers receive seafood tied to Dalian Haiqing?
Were the third-party audits you noted in your January 25 email announced or unannounced?
Who carried out those third-party audits for High Liner?
What - if any - language or process was included in those audits specifically to identify the presence of North Korean workers?"
A coalition of eighteen NGOs wrote to thirteen major seafood distributors and retailers, including High Liner, asking a series of questions connected to the Outlaw Ocean's reporting. Their email to High Liner said: "Dear High Liner,
We are writing to you on behalf of a consortium of human rights NGOs requesting an update on the steps Cité Marine 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 High Liner,
The undersigned organizations, experts on human rights, labor rights, Uyghur rights, North Korean rights, and trade law, are requesting an update on the steps High Liner 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, High Liner 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"