Correspondence
Email sent to the Corporate Affairs office of Walmart Canada.
The email said Findus is supplied white fish by NorthSeafood Holland B.V. and packaging analysis shows that a Findus product supplied by NorthSeafood Holland is sold by Walmart Canada. NorthSeafood Holland B.V. imports white fish, including Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified material, from two Chinese seafood processors: Yantai Sanko Fisheries Co. Ltd. and Yantai Longwin Foods Co. Ltd. Yantai Sanko Fisheries has received persons from the Xinjiang region of China under a state-imposed labor transfer program since 2019 and until at least April 2023. The Outlaw Ocean Project found evidence of Uyghur forced labor at Yantai Sanko Fisheries throughout this period. The investigation has also found Uyghurs working at Yantai Longwin Foods Co. Ltd., a company linked to Yantai Sanko Fisheries through corporate ownership, 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 enrolment and obstruct freedom to terminate employment. The U.S. has prohibited the importation of goods produced from state-imposed forced labor. The email asked: Could you confirm whether any seafood products processed by Yantai Sanko or Yantai Longwin have been supplied to Walmart Canada?
Email sent to the corporate affairs team for Walmart Canada regarding the company's supplier, High Liner, and connections to Uyghur forced labor in Chinese seafood processing plants. The email asked: 1. 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 Walmart Canada since 2019? 2. Could you confirm whether white fish sourced from Yantai Sanko or Yantai Longwin has been used in any Walmart Canada own-brand white fish products sold since 2019? The email also asked if Walmart Canada has any comment or clarification to make regarding the above information.
Stephanie Fusco, Senior Manager of Corporate Affaris, replied to confirm receipt and that she was looking into the query.
The Outlaw Ocean Project asked Walmart Canada if it has any response to the queries dated August 11 and August 22, 2023.
Stephanie Fusco replied: "Thank you for your email. I do not have an update at this time – the investigation is still ongoing."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed Walmart Canada: "We previously emailed Walmart Canada on September 15, 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 seen by The Outlaw Ocean Project, Aqua Star was the consignee for multiple shipments of seafood, including pollock, 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.
Walmart Canada stocks a number of Aqua Star seafood products (for example, pollock).
In light of the above, we have some questions for Walmart Canada:
- While we understand that you may not be aware of the above issues, we want to ask if Walmart Canada has any comment to make in response to this, or our previous, email?
- Can you confirm or deny if Walmart Canada has been supplied any products from Dalian Haiqing, via Aqua Star or any other supplier?"