Ayam Brand
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 12 sources
Singapore and Malaysia canned sardine, tuna and coconut milk brand of A. Clouet.
There's no proof Ayam Brand pays more than the legal minimum, which in Thailand and Malaysia is below a living wage, and it has no full independent audit.
Other canned and pouched fish brands
Nothing we've rated in canned and pouched fish is better than Lacks transparency yet.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, a hidden, unaudited supply chain in high-risk countries and fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farm. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsMost of its products are made in countries such as Thailand and Malaysia, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
- Not met: Traces its catch to the boat or farm and has crews' or farm workers' conditions checked independently
Red flags 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Hidden supply chain, mostly in countries with poor worker rights
- Red flag: Relies on fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farmShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
Ayam Brand says it makes products in Malaysia. Press and retailer reports name Thailand. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Malaysia | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| AustraliaUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| EcuadorUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| NorwayUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: fishing fleets and processing plants have some of the worst documented forced labour, including trafficked crews held at sea for years.
- Relies on fish and seafood from fishing boats and farms, where crews and farm workers, often migrants recruited into debt, have been held for months or years, beaten and denied pay, out of reach of factory audits. It hasn't shown any steps to trace its fish and seafood to the boat or farm or have the conditions of the people who catch or farm it checked, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.
Research notes Ayam does not own its canneries: its Australian tuna specs name Thai Union Manufacturing (TUM, Thailand) as the maker, and its sardines are made in Malaysia by an unnamed factory. Its tuna is mostly purse-seine skipjack, yellowfin and tonggol from the Western Pacific. Its only labour measure is a supplier code of conduct and an ethics hotline; it publishes no vessel or supplier list, holds no MSC or other certification, and reports no checks of crews. Finnwatch found in 2012 that TUM held Cambodian workers' passports, before it is known to have made Ayam tuna.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Listed | Ayam tuna, produced by Thai Union, scored 53.77 out of 100 (Fair) and ranked 16th of 20 in Greenpeace Southeast Asia's 2020 canned tuna ranking. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 12
Show all 12 sources
- Greenpeace demands sustainability and due diligence on human rights for tuna industries in Southeast Asia (Greenpeace) · Aug 2020: Ayam among 20 tuna companies scored on traceability, sourcing and human rights policy; not among the four rated good
- Southeast Asia's tuna canneries urged to eliminate modern slavery at sea (Eco-Business, 2020) · Reporting Greenpeace's 2020 Southeast Asia canned tuna ranking, lists Ayam among 15 brands rated only fair overall; just one firm rated good on legality and labour
- Southeast Asia Canned Tuna Ranking 2020 (Greenpeace Southeast Asia) · search the archive · Ayam Brand tuna manufactured by Thai Union; scored 53.77 (16th of 20); 98% purse seine; supplier code and online grievance, but weak labour due diligence
- Tuna Chunks in Sunflower Oil 12x150g (A. Clouet Australia product specification) · search the archive · Australian market tuna; manufacturing factory TUM; distributor A. Clouet (Australia) Pty Ltd
- Curry Tuna 12x160g (A. Clouet Australia product specification) · search the archive · Australian market tuna; manufacturing factory TUM
- Sardines in Black Bean Sauce 12x120g (A. Clouet Australia product specification) · search the archive · Australian market sardines; country of origin Malaysia; manufacturing factory MFP
- Thai factory accused of abuses (Phnom Penh Post via Open Development Cambodia, Jan 2013) · search the archive · Finnwatch found Thai Union Manufacturing, a tuna plant in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, confiscated Cambodian migrants' passports
- Finnwatch tuna supply chain report (2015) · search the archive · Passports confiscated at TUM in 2012; by 2015 workers held their documents and TUM covered extra recruitment fees
- Ayam Sardines in Tomato Sauce 425g (BuyWisely price comparison) · search the archive · Stocked by Australian grocers including ARC Asian Grocer, Adelaide's Finest and Sta. Lucia Grocers
Published by Ayam Brand or its owner
- Our Sustainability Efforts (Ayam Brand Singapore) · search the archive · Ayam works with canned fish factories it does not name; tuna species and fishing areas; supplier code of conduct on labour; ethics hotline
- FAQ (Ayam Brand Singapore) · search the archive · Sardine and mackerel fishing areas; JAKIM Malaysia halal certification
- Sardines in Tomato Sauce 155g (Ayam Australia) · search the archive · Ayam Australia website sells sardines to the Australian market
Company details
- Headquarters
- Singapore
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Ayam Brand ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/ayam-brand, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Ayam Brand.