Correspondence
Email sent to Aberfield, the press agency that handles media queries for Young's Seafood.
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 a supplier in Young’s supply chain - Qingdao Tianyuan Aquatic, based in China. Unibond Seafood International supplies fish products to Young’s Seafood. Unibond has imported shipments of cod and pollock from Qingdao Tianyuan Aquatic Foodstuffs Co. Ltd.
Qingdao Tianyuan has received persons transferred from the Xinjiang region of China under a state-imposed forced labor transfer program since 2020, and until at least May 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. The U.S. has prohibited the importation of goods produced from state-imposed forced labor.
Can Young’s confirm if it supplies whitefish sourced from Unibond to primary schools in England? Does Young’s have any comment or clarification to make regarding the above information? Please let us know by close of business August 4, 2023."
Erin Jones of Aberfield replied: "Thanks for your email. I will get in touch with the team at Young’s about this and come back to you with a response. Can I ask the reason for the deadline of the 4th August? If an investigation needs to take place it will take some time."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Thanks for your email. We have to move ahead with the story and can’t hold it indefinitely, hence the deadline."
Erin Jones of Aberfield replied saying: "Thanks for getting back to me and for the additional information. If you’ve got any further background that would be really helpful so we can try and sort out a response for you. Have you contacted any other organisations about this? Where are you looking to publish this – is it on The Outlaw Ocean Project website or another publication?"
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed back to say: "Yes, we have been in touch with other organizations on this issue. Regarding publication: we partner with news organizations globally to publish our projects."
Erin Jones of Aberfield replied with a statement from Young's: "Young’s Seafood Limited take any allegations of forced or illegal labour within our supply chain extremely seriously. We are currently undertaking our own investigation. We are active members of the Seafood Ethics Action Alliance (SEA Alliance), a collaboration of retailers and seafood businesses which aims to strengthen human rights due diligence in the global seafood supply chain and ensure respect for human rights. Through this, we are involved in a range of activities which seek to improve labour standards in the seafood sector. These include ensuring effective due diligence and effective protection of human rights."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Thanks so much for getting that statement out to us so quickly. Could Young’s give us a sense of the time needed to conduct an internal investigation, and when we will be updated on the findings? I’m sure Young’s can appreciate that, given the role the company plays in UK 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. We also have two follow-up questions in relation to Young’s supply chain investigation:
- Can Young’s confirm if white fish, including pollock and cod, sourced from Unibond is used in own-brand seafood products supplied to UK retailers, such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Iceland and Aldi.
- Can Young’s confirm if white fish, including pollock and cod, sourced from Unibond is used in any of the Young’s Seafood-branded products sold by most major UK retailers?"
Erin Jones of Aberfield replied: "Do you have a deadline in mind for answers to your questions below?"
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "We would like to receive responses to all of our queries by the close of business August 10, 2023. Noting Young's active investigation, do you believe that is feasible? If not, when do you expect Young's to be able to respond in full?"
Erin Jones at Aberfield replied: "As I mentioned last week, Young’s has started an investigation into this matter. I’m sure you are aware, with your extensive experience in this area, the level of complexity involved in this type of investigation when the processing facility in question is in China. Young’s is in the process of talking to suppliers to find out further information in order to verify the claims you have made to us. However, if you can share any information or evidence behind the claims that would help greatly in expediting the process. Can you provide any further evidence or information that could assist us in our investigation?"
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "We were under the impression that one of the benefits of MSC Chain of Custody certification is that traceability to processing facilities is relatively straightforward in circumstances such as these. Have we misunderstood the effectiveness of MSC Chain of Custody certification in offering traceability of raw material to source? In terms of further information, unfortunately we're not in a position to disclose details about our methods or provide evidence to companies at this time. What I can confirm is that our evidence of Uyghur forced labor at Qingdao Tianyuan Aquatic Foodstuffs in the period 2020 to May 2023 is based on state media reports, company materials and photo and video evidence. Since our email on August 1, 2023, we've uncovered additional evidence indicating that Qingdao Tianyuan began deploying Xinjiang workers as early as 2018. Our investigation further indicates that social audits conducted at Qingdao Tianyuan, as well as at a number of other Chinese seafood processing plants, have consistently failed to detect Uyghur forced labor over multiple years. Please note that we expect a response to our enquiries by close of business August 10, 2023."
Erin Jones replied: "I think you may have misunderstood - my point around the complexity was around the evidence of forced labour, not around the supply. Thank you for the additional information you have sent over though. What you have provided is a good start, but the sharing of the evidence you have mentioned - not just the methods you have used - would be hugely helpful in assisting with our investigations."
The Outlaw Ocean Project responded: "I did indeed misunderstand you there, my apologies and thanks for the clarification. We've provided as much as we can at present without jeopardizing the sources of the information. At this stage, it would also be unfair to provide Young's with evidence that we have denied other implicated companies access to. The methodological pointers and summary of findings we've already provided are quite specific and should be enough for you to proceed. We look forward to your reply, and I'm available in the meantime to answer any additional questions you may have."
Erin Jones at Aberfeld sent a statement from Young's Seafood: "Young’s Seafood Limited take any allegations of forced or illegal labour within our supply chain extremely seriously and have started an investigation into this matter. “We appreciate that it is not possible for The Outlaw Ocean Project to share their evidence with us at this time, and we await the publishing of their report, which will aid us in our further investigations. We will provide further updates in due course as this develops. We are continuing to work alongside Seafood Ethics Action Alliance, Food Network for Ethical Trade (FNET) and the wider industry to address this very important issue, which affects not just the seafood industry, but all areas of manufacturing.”
The Outlaw Ocean Project responded: "Thanks for your email. I am just writing to confirm with you that we have received the response from Young's Seafood. One note: we do not anonymize spokespeople as a matter of course. So any attribution will name the relevant spokesperson."
Erin Hobbs of Aberfield replied: "Thanks for getting back to me. Can we ask who you are intending to attribute the quote to? Just so you’re aware, as we are external consultants we are not spokespeople for the business."
The Outlaw Ocean Project responded: "We will need to attribute to you if you are serving as a consultant for the company in replying to our media queries. If you’d like your client to provide you with an alternate name so we that we do not have to attribute to this email and its sender then please ask your client and we can use an alternate name."
Erin Hobbs of Aberfield responded: "To reiterate, categorically I am not a spokesperson for Young’s and I cannot speak on behalf of the business. It would be factually incorrect to quote me as a spokesperson. We will put your question to the team at Young’s but it is at their discretion on whether they choose to name someone, as is normal and professional media protocol."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed: "I'm following up on our email of August 1, 2023, to let you know that our investigation continues to surface questions in relation to your client's supply chain. Further to our enquiry about UK primary schools, our research shows that Young's is an important supplier to the UK healthcare and (primary, secondary and higher) education sectors. Can Young's confirm whether any seafood sourced from Qingdao Tianyuan has been supplied by Young's brands to UK healthcare or education facilities since 2018? Can Young's confirm it is confident that no seafood produced through Xinjiang forced labor has been supplied to UK healthcare or education facilities since 2018? Kindly respond to this email by close of business September 1, 2023."
Tim Downs at Aberfeld replied with a statement from Young's: “Young’s Seafood Limited take any allegations of forced or illegal labour within our supply chain extremely seriously and therefore we are independently following up and conducting an investigation into this matter.
In addition to our own investigations, we continue to work alongside Seafood Ethics Action Alliance, Food Network for Ethical Trade (FNET) and the wider industry to be vigilant on this very important issue, which affects not just the seafood industry, but all areas of manufacturing.
Any evidence that The Outlaw Ocean Project can share that would aid our own investigation will be gratefully received.”
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed: "We previously emailed you on August 30, 2023, regarding our investigation into the use of forced labor in China’s seafood processing industry. Our ongoing investigation has found additional evidence which we wanted to bring to Young’s Seafood. 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 North Korean workers at Dalian Haiqing Food Co. Ltd. in Liaoning. 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. According to trade records, Fastnet Fish was the consignee for multiple shipments of seafood, including Alaska pollock, from Dalian Haiqing between June 2020 and April 2023. Materials published on Young’s website indicate that Fastnet Fish supplies Alaska pollock and pink salmon pieces to Young’s. In light of this, we have some questions for Young’s: 1. While we understand that you may not be aware of the above issues, we want to ask if Young’s has any comment to make in response to this email? 2. Has Fastnet Fish supplied any seafood from Dalian Haiqing to Young’s Seafood? 3. Has Young’s Seafood supplied any seafood from Dalian Haiqing to Creed Food Service?"
A coalition of eighteen NGOs wrote to thirteen major seafood distributors and retailers, including Young's Seafood, asking a series of questions connected to the Outlaw Ocean's reporting. Their email to Young's Seafood said: "Dear Young's Seafood,
We are writing to you on behalf of a consortium of human rights NGOs requesting an update on the steps Young's Seafood 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 Young’s Seafood,
The undersigned organizations, experts on human rights, labor rights, Uyghur rights, North Korean rights, and trade law, are requesting an update on the steps Young’s Seafood 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, Young’s Seafood 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"
Erin Hobbs of Aberfield replied, saying: "Hi Ethan, Thank you for getting in touch. Confirming receipt of the below. We are speaking to Young’s and will come back to you. Thanks, Erin"