I’m writing to you in light of our latest investigation, which concerns abuses in the Chinese squid fishing industry, and a link we’ve discovered between companies engaged in abuses and Safeway’s supply chain.

This link concerns a Chinese squid jigger owned by the Chinese fishery company, Rongcheng Wangdao Ocean Aquatic Products. In a seven-month period, one crew member died and a second was disembarked for emergency medical treatment after suffering serious mistreatment and abuse while on board the vessel. Our reporting documents multiple indicators of forced labor among crew onboard the ves…

I contacted the Albertsons media team earlier this year regarding The Outlaw Ocean Project’s investigation into abuses in the Chinese squid fishing industry, as it related to Safeway's supply chain. I am contacting you now in light of new findings made as part of our ongoing reporting on human rights and environmental issues connected with the world’s oceans.

Further to my previous correspondence, we have uncovered a link between a company engaged in the use of Uyghur forced labor in seafood processing and a supplier in your supply chain. Yantai Sanko Fisheries Co. Ltd., which supplies white…

I’ve emailed the Albertsons media team twice already this year regarding our investigation into abuses in the Chinese squid fishing industry and forced labor in seafood processing, as those issues related to Safeway’s supply chain. I’m contacting you again now regarding Shaw’s Supermarkets, an Albertsons company, which stocks the Dagim Tahorim Co.’s product, Dagim Premium Flounder Fillets.

Dagim Tahorim imports flounder from the processor Yantai Sanko Fisheries, based in China. As discussed in my email dated July 4, 2023, Yantai Sanko Fisheries Co. Ltd. has received persons from the Xinjiang…

I have contacted the Albertsons media team several times this year regarding The Outlaw Ocean Project’s investigation into abuses in the Chinese fishing and seafood processing industries, as they relate to the supply chains of your brands Albertsons, Safeway’s, ACME and Shaw’s. Our investigation continues to surface additional questions in relation to your company’s supply chain, specifically your supplier High Liner Foods.

In addition to the supplier Yantai Sanko mentioned in our emails dated July 4 and July 14, 2023, High Liner Foods has also imported shipments of yellowfin sole from Yanta…

Albertsons Cos. is committed to providing our customers with high-quality and traceable seafood from environmentally and socially responsible sources, and we take these allegations very seriously. We expect our suppliers to adopt and comply with comprehensive, transparent and verifiable supply chains that are free of human trafficking and forced labor. We are thoroughly investigating these claims, and in light of High Liner Foods’ ties to one of the alleged fisheries, we have made the decision to stop purchases of flounder and yellowtail sole from this supplier. At the conclusion of our invest…

Thank you for your response and positive engagement with our findings. You write that Albertsons is suspending purchases of flounder and yellowtail sole from High Liner, pending conclusion of your investigation. Can I clarify that decision applies to all of your company's retail banners (Albertsons, Shaw's, ACME and Safeway)? Will Albertsons also be withdrawing High Liner flounder and yellow tail products from sale?

Thank you also for outlining the steps you intend to take to investigate our allegations further. Our findings show that social audits (specifically: Sedex Member Ethical Trade A…

Our decision to stop purchases of flounder and yellowtail sole from High Liner Foods applies to all of our company’s retail banners including Albertsons, Shaw's, ACME and Safeway. We will not be pulling the current flounder and yellowtail sole product from shelves. The product is safe for consumption and consciously discarding it would increase food waste going to landfills, another important issue. As one of our country’s largest grocers, Albertsons Companies is always working to improve transparency within our seafood supply chain; to protect the oceans; and to provide fair and equitable tre…

A coalition of eighteen NGOs wrote to thirteen major seafood distributors and retailers, including Albertsons, asking a series of questions connected to The Outlaw Ocean Project's reporting. Their email to Albertsons said: "Dear Albertsons,

We are writing to you on behalf of a consortium of human rights NGOs requesting an update on the steps Ahold Delhaize 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…