Correspondence
Email sent to the press office of Jonh Lewis, the parent company of Waitrose.
The email said that two suppliers to Waitrose - Nomad Foods and Young’s Seafood - are supplied seafood products by companies in China that have recieved persons from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. 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. Waitrose 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 International is a white fish supplier to Young’s Seafood, which supplies Waitrose with a range of Young’s branded products containing white fish. 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. The email asked for comment on whether white fish sourced from these Chinse plants had ended up in any of the branded white fish products under Nomad Foods or Young’s Seafood brands sold by Waitrose.
The press office of John Lewis replied saying they will look into the questions and asked whether The Outlaw Ocean Project contacted other supermarkets for comment and which outlet the piece is being written for, and what time period is covered by the investigation.
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied, saying the work was being written for a variety venues globally, and the researchers have contacted various supermarkets, and are likely publishing this Fall, but we are not certain an exact date. In a separate email on the same day, The Outlaw Ocean Project said that the investigation spans the period 2018 to 2023.
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied that it has already confirmed to John Lewis that it is publishing through a variety of global media outlets, including in the U.K.
The John Lewis press office replied: "The worker welfare of those in our supply chain is incredibly important to us, and we expect our suppliers comply with the provisions of our Responsible Sourcing Code of Practice (RSCOP). We have our own due diligence programme in place and also expect all suppliers to carry out their own due diligence - you can read further information from our website here. We have looked into this as a matter of urgency with our supplier and they do not source from Yantai Sanko. Our due diligence processes to date have also not shown any evidence of forced labour at Qingdao Tianyuan, however we would encourage you to contact the supplier directly for further comment. As the supplier provides products to other U.K. supermarkets, the British Retail Consortium has provided a statement on behalf of the whole industry: Sophie De Salis, Sustainability Policy Adviser at the BRC, said: “Protecting the welfare of people and communities in supply chains is fundamental to our members' sourcing practices. Forced labour has no place in our retailers’ supply chains, and any practices that fall short of our high standards will not be tolerated." "
The Outlaw Ocean Project responded seeking additional clarifications about Waitrose's supply chain management: "Please could you tell us more about the due diligence steps taken by Waitrose to investigate our allegations of forced labour at Qingdao Tianyuan? To clarify, our allegation concerns state-imposed forced labour. As mentioned in our previous communication, 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. Therefore, evidence of Qingdao Tianyuan's participation in government labour transfer programs deploying Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities to the factory is evidence of forced labour, at least according to relevant standards (such as the United States Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act). Is this consistent with Waitrose's understanding and use of the term 'forced labour' in the context of our allegation?"
The Outlaw Ocean Project sent an additional supply chain query to John Lewis for Waitrose: Our research shows that Young's Seafood supplies Waitrose with a range of own-brand white fish products, including cod and pollock (coley) fish cakes, fish fingers and fillets. Could you confirm whether white fish sourced from Qingdao Tianyuan has been used in any of the Waitrose branded white fish products sold by Waitrose since 2018?
Charlotte at the John Lewis press office replied: "I've had confirmation that we do not source own-label white fish via Young's through China directly or indirectly, nor have we in the timeframes you referenced. It would be wholly incorrect to report otherwise. As outlined previously, we expect our suppliers to comply with the provisions stated from our Responsible Sourcing Code of Practice (RSCOP), and we're looking into these issues raised as a matter of urgency with our supplier. When it comes to forced labour, we refer to the International Labour Organisation's definition of forced labour."