Correspondence
Email sent to the media team at IGA's owner, Sobeys.
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 suppliers in your supply chain - Yantai Sanko Fisheries and Dandong Taihua.
High Liner’s range of fish products are stocked by IGA. High Liner sources fish, including haddock fillets, pollock fillets and Pacific cod, from the processor Yantai Sanko Fisheries, based in China. Yantai Sanko Fisheries Co. Ltd. has received persons from the Xinjiang region of China under a state-imposed labor transfer program since 2019 and until at least 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. The U.S. has prohibited the importation of goods produced from state-imposed forced labor. Frobisher International’s Ocean Mama brand is stocked by IGA. Trade data shows that Frobisher International Enterprise has imported several shipments of seafood products, including under the Ocean Mama brand, from Dandong Taihua since 2019.
A report published in 2022 by the non-governmental research organization, the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, identified Dandong Taihua Food Co. Ltd. 丹东泰华食品有限公司 as using North Korean labor after the deadline for the repatriation of overseas North Korean workers required under UN Security Council Resolutions. The import to the U.S. of goods produced by North Koreans is prohibited under U.S. sanctions.
Do Sobeys or IGA have any comment to make on the above information? Please let me know by close of business July 19, 2023."
Sarah Dawson, Public Affairs Lead at Sobeys, emailed: "Empire Company Limited takes labour abuse issues very seriously. We have a zero tolerance policy in our supply chain and we set and communicate this high standard to our supplier partners through our Ethical and Sustainable Sourcing Policy. We have reached out to High Liner Foods to respond to your request directly. We no longer carry Ocean Mama Seafood products in our corporate store network. We expect our supplier partners to comply with international labour laws and standards to protect all individuals along the supply chain. Furthermore, we work closely with supplier partners and service providers to build and grow business relationships that are ethical and respectful of our core values as a company. Further requests on this matter should be redirected to High Liner Foods."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed the media team at IGA's owner, Sobeys: "Our investigation continues to surface additional questions in relation to your company’s supply chain, specifically your supplier High Liner Foods.
Sobeys, Safeway and IGA stock a range of High Liner Foods products containing white fish. High Liner has imported shipments of cod, pollock, haddock, yellowfin sole, ocean perch and flounder from Yantai Sanko Fisheries Co. Ltd., a seafood processor 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.
High Liner has also imported shipments of yellowfin sole from Yantai Longwin Foods Co. Ltd. Yantai Longwin is linked to Yantai Sanko through corporate ownership. Our investigation has also found Uyghurs working at Yantai Longwin, since August 2020 and until as recently as March 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. The U.S. has prohibited the importation of goods produced from state-imposed forced labor.
Could you confirm whether white fish sourced from Yantai Sanko or Yantai Longwin has been used in any of the High Liner branded white fish sold by Sobeys, Safeway or IGA since 2019? Does Sobeys, Safeway or IGA have any comment or clarification to make regarding the above information? Please let us know by close of business August 30, 2023."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed the media team at Sobeys: "We previously emailed Sobeys on August 22, 2023, regarding our investigation into the use of forced labor in China’s seafood processing industry. Since then, our ongoing investigation has uncovered additional evidence.
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 Liaoning province, on China’s border with North Korea.
We have information that as recently as December 2023, there were 50-70 workers at Dalian Haiqing Food Co. Ltd. in Liaoning.
According to trade records, Aqua Star was the consignee for multiple shipments of seafood, including pink salmon fillets, from Dalian Haiqing between 2017 and 2023.
The use of overseas North Korean workers was prohibited by the United Nations Security Council in 2017, with Resolution 2397 setting a deadline of December 2019 for the repatriation of all such workers to North Korea. 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 unless clear and convincing evidence is provided that indicates the materials were not made with forced labor.
Voilà by Sobeys stocks a number of Aqua Star seafood products (for example, pink salmon fillets).
In light of the above, we have some questions for Sobeys:
- While we understand that you may not be aware of the above issues, we want to ask if Voilà or Sobeys has any comment to make in response to this, or our previous, email?
- Can you confirm or deny if Violá or Sobeys has been supplied with any products from Dalian Haiqing?"