Correspondence
Email sent to the press office of Ocado.
The email said that two suppliers of Ocado - Nomad Foods and Young’s Seafood - are supplied seafood products by companies in China that have recieved persons from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The email asked for comment on whether white fish sourced from named Chinse plants had ended up in any of the branded white fish products under Nomad Foods or Young’s Seafood brands or in any of M&S's own branded seafood sold by Ocado.
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed the Ocado press office, saying: "Since we last contacted Ocado in August, our investigation into the use of forced labor in China’s seafood processing industry has made further findings which we want to bring to your attention, as they relate to your supply chain. Packaging analysis shows that a company called Cawoods Ltd. has been supplied salted pollock products from the Chinese company, Donggang Haimeng. We understand that Cawoods supplies salted pollock to Ocado, as per the Ocado website. We have uncovered evidence that Donggang Haimeng used North Korean labor after the December 2019 deadline for the repatriation of overseas North Korean workers required under United Nations Security Council sanctions. This evidence shows North Korean labor at Donggang Haimeng’s factory in Liaoning, China, as recently as 2023. While we understand that you may not be aware of the above issues, does Ocado have any comment to make in response to this email? Can you confirm or deny if Ocado has sold any product sourced from Donggang Haimeng since December 2019?"