Correspondence
Email sent to Tesco's press office and marked FAO Matt Francis, head of media at Tesco PLC.
The email said: "I’m contacting you in light of our latest investigation which concerns the use of forced labor in China’s seafood processing industry, and a link we’ve discovered between a company engaged in such practices and Tesco’s supply chain.
Shandong Haidu, which supplies seafood products to Lyons Seafoods Ltd., has received persons from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China under the state-imposed labor transfer program.
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 leave employment. The U.S. has prohibited the importation of goods produced from state-imposed forced labor.
Lyons Seafoods Ltd. supplies seafood products to Tesco.
Does Tesco have any comment to make in response to the above information? Please reply to this email by close of business on July 6, 2023."
Fred in Tesco's press office replied: "Please contact Lara Conradie (lara.conradie@brc.org.uk) at the British Retail Consortium (BRC) for an industry-wide view. She is awaiting your email and has a response to give you from an industry perspective."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Thanks, Fred. We are happy to engage BRC but will also need a formal reply from Tesco. If you prefer to not reply on behalf of Tesco unless you prefer us to say that Tesco declined to answer submitted questions and instead referred us to an industry-wide organization."
Fred at Tesco's press office responded: "You can say we referred you to an industry body as it’s an industry wide issue."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Ok, but to be clear we will also necessarily be saying that Tesco declined to answer our Tesco specific questions."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed Tesco: "Our investigation continues to surface additional questions in relation to your company’s supply chain, specifically 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. Tesco 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 Tesco with a range of Young’s branded products containing white fish as well as Tesco’s own-brand Hearty Food Co. battered white fish fillets, according to packaging analysis.
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 either Yantai Sanko Fisheries or Qingdao Tianyuan has been used in any of the Birds Eye branded products sold by Tesco since 2019?
- Could you confirm whether white fish sourced from Qingdao Tianyuan has been used in any of the Young’s Seafood branded products sold by Tesco since 2020?
- Could you confirm whether white fish sourced from Qingdao Tianyuan has been used in any Tesco own-brand products since 2020?
Does Tesco have any comment or clarification to make regarding the above information? Please let us know by close of business August 29, 2023."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed Tesco's press office, saying: "Since we last contacted Tesco 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 Tesco’s 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 Tesco, as per Tesco’s 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 Tesco have any comment to make in response to this email? Can you confirm or deny if Tesco has sold any product sourced from Donggang Haimeng since December 2019?"