Correspondence
Email sent to the press office of Marks and Spencer.
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 two of your suppliers - Nomad Foods and Young’s Seafood.
Our research shows that Northseafood Holland and Unibond Seafood International are white fish suppliers to Nomad Foods brands, which include the Birds Eye, Findus and Iglo ranges retailing across Europe. M&S stocks a range of Nomad Foods’ Birds Eye branded products containing white fish, including cod and pollock.
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.
Unibond Seafood has imported shipments of white fish, including cod and pollock, from Qingdao Tianyuan Aquatic Foodstuffs Co. Ltd., a supplier based in China. Qingdao Tianyuan has also received persons transferred by the Chinese government from the Xinjiang region since 2020 and until at least May 2023.
Our research further shows that Unibond Seafood International is a white fish supplier to Young’s Seafood, which supplies M&S with a range of Young’s branded products containing white fish as well as own-brand M&S white fish products in accordance with a supply contract spanning 2018 to 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.
We have the following questions:
- Could you confirm whether white fish sourced from Yantai Sanko Fisheries or Qingdao Tianyuan has been used in any of the Birds Eye branded white fish sold by M&S since 2019?
- Could you confirm whether white fish sourced from Qingdao Tianyuan has been used in any of the Young’s Seafood branded white fish sold by M&S since 2020?
- Could you confirm whether white fish sourced from Qingdao Tianyuan has been used in any M&S own-brand products since 2020? Does M&S have any comment or clarification to make regarding the above information? Please let us know by close of business August 29, 2023."
Allan Ross at Marks and Spencer replied: "Is there any chance I could get back to you with answers to your questions tomorrow?"
Allan Ross at Marks and Spencer replied: "Our team has investigated and no white fish from Qingdao Tianyuan has been used in any M&S own-brand products and we don’t sell branded seafood products from Young’s or Birdseye. I understand that you already have a comment from the British Retail Consortium, which represents retailers."
The Outlaw Ocean Project responded: "Thank you for this response and for your clarification. My apologies for the inaccuracy in our enquiry there, we were working on the understanding that the Young's and Birds Eye products available via your online retail partner Ocado represented products stocked by M&S. Our findings indicate shortcomings in seafood traceability systems, including in Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified chains of custody. Do M&S have visibility on the movement of material through the supply chain and assurance on product traceability, batch management, etc at each location handling the product? How does M&S verify that your white fish traceability is fit for purpose and provides robust assurance that material from Qingdao Tianyuan hasn't entered your own-brand product supply?"
Allan Ross at Marks and Spencer replied: "Alongside regular visits from our technical and buying teams, we have third party (often unannounced) food safety and integrity audits right through our supply chain with testing of raw materials for species and authenticity."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Thanks for this, I'd be grateful if you could clarify which food traceability standard(s) is used to audit sites supplying M&S own-brand fish via Young's, including Qingdao Tianyuan. Also when was the last time an M&S technical or buying team visited Qingdao Tianyuan?"