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 companies engaged in such practices and one of your suppliers - Nomad Foods.

REWE sells Iglo brand white fish products. Our research shows that Northseafood Holland and Unibond Seafood International are white fish suppliers to Nomad Foods brands, which include the Iglo, Birds Eye and Findus ranges retailing across Europe.

Northseafood Holland has imported shipments of white fish, including pollock, from the processor, Yantai S…

REWE is still investigation whether, or to what extent, the supply chains of branded and private label products which could be affected by The Outlaw Ocean Project's investigation is ongoing. The company is awaiting final feedback from Iglo as to whether the companies named by The Ocean Outlaw Project are part of the supply chain of the Iglo fish products supplied to REWE since 2018, though Iglo is not one of REWE's private label suppliers. REWE's purchasing for its private labels relies on ratings baesd on sources such as the fish stock assessments of the International Council for the Explora…

The Outlaw Ocean Project’s publishing partner in Germany, Die Zeit, asked REWE for an update on its internal review into the findings of The Outlaw Ocean Project’s investigation.

The email in its original language said: "In der „Zeit“ und auf „Zeitonline“ lief kürzlich eine Serie über Zustände in der chinesischen Fischfangflotte und in der dortigen Fischverarbeitung (www.zeit.de/schattenflotte), zu der Sie mit meinem Kollegen Marcus Rohwetter bereits Kontakt hatten. Wir möchten in der kommenden Woche noch einmal auf dieses Thema schauen, und ich würde gerne der Ankündigung in Ihrer E-Mail vom…

1. if Iglo continues to supply REWE as a brand supplier, and 2) if it cannot be ruled out that deliveries were made, either previously or currently, to REWE from the relevant processing companies, outside of the private label supplies.

The email in its original language said: "Das lässt nach rascher Lesart den Schluss zu, dass a) Iglo (natürlich) als Markenlieferant Rewe weiterhin beliefert. Wie sehen Sie in diesem Zusammenhang dann die Verantwortung Ihres Hauses in der Lieferkette? und dass b) auf der Basis Ihres Statements nicht auszuschließen ist, dass aus den anderen Ihnen genannten Unter…

REWE is in constant communication with its brand and own-brand suppliers regarding their shared responsibility for human rights and environmental risks in the supply chain. Regarding the example of Iglo, it obliges its suppliers to ensure compliance with the agreed requirements via regular audit. In the area of both branded and private label products, REWE can rule out the possibility that these companies are part of its supply chains, but it cannot be completely ruled out that REWE occasionally received Iglo products in the past, in which raw materials were processed at Qingdao Tianyuan.

The…

We previously contacted REWE on August 31, 2023, regarding our investigation into the use of forced labor in China’s seafood processing industry. Our ongoing investigation has uncovered additional evidence which we wanted to bring to your attention. 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…

Thank you for your message. Due to the limited information and missing documents, it is indeed not possible for us to fully trace the past facts. We would need specific and complete details of the companies involved in the supply chain as well as the deliveries themselves, e.g. batch numbers, production, delivery and invoice data.

However, we would like to make the following statement: REWE Group does not tolerate human rights violations or forced labor in the supply chain. Corresponding regulations that are binding for our suppliers define minimum standards, demands, activities and restricti…

Thank you for your email and for engaging with us on this. There are a number of very helpful databases, such as Import Genius and Panjiva, which we tend to use to help in tracing supply chain connections and shipments. The trade records showing shipments from Dalian Haiqing Food consigned to Rewe-Zentral AG are all marked as leaving the port of Dalian, and arriving at the port of Hamburg. The arrival dates are: 14-05-2021; 21-05-2021; 04-06-2021; 25-06-2021; and 20-08-2021. The product details for the first of those dates list frozen fillets of Alaska pollock, while the other four are identif…

Thank you for your renewed email. We are very interested in investigating the matter and are taking the information seriously.

According to our information, Dalian Haiqing Food Co. Ltd. has five fish factories. Two fish factories produce products for the domestic Chinese market and three fish factories produce export products. We have a business relationship with two of the three fish factories producing for export: Dalian Jiaming Food Co. Ltd. and Dalian Haikuo Food Co. Ltd.

Both factories are BSCI-certified and both factories underwent ICS (Initiative for Compliance and Sustainability) aud…

Thanks for your email and your interest in discussing the investigation further. As you may not know, we're communicating with over 300 companies about our investigation into forced labor, and we're doing so always in writing and on record so we can be fully transparent. While we are unable to speak by phone, we are happy to keep talking by email.

As a journalism outlet, we are unable to provide anything that risks exposing our sources to retribution or penalty from authorities in China and/or North Korea. That said, we do not wish to hinder your investigation into the allegations and will s…