Bornholms
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 5 sources
Danish canned cod roe, fish balls and fish spreads brand of Amanda Seafoods.
Until Bornholms traces its fish and seafood to the boat or farm and has the conditions of the people who catch or farm it checked independently, it can't show that they are free and fairly paid.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 3 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It relies on fish and seafood that it can't trace to the boat or farm. That alone means a poor grade until it takes steps to trace it and check the conditions of the people who catch or farm it.
- 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 3 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Met: Respects worker rights
- 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
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Not met: Traces its catch to the boat or farm and has crews' or farm workers' conditions checked independently
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Relies on fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farm
- 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
From Bornholms's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories. Its list covers only part of its range. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| ThailandUsual for the industry | 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.
- Owns or runs its own production
- 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 Amanda Seafoods, part of Norway's Insula group, bought Bornholms in 2019 and moved its production lines from Nexø on Bornholm to its own plant in Frederikshavn, Denmark. In 2015 the company said its fish came mainly from Chile and Norway. Its cod roe is sold as MSC certified, but no supplier list, vessel or crew checks, social audits or labour policy are published for the brand or its owners.
Sources and actions
Sources 5
Show all 5 sources
- Successful implementation of Bornholms (Insula, 2019) · search the archive · Amanda Seafoods runs Bornholms; production lines and warehouse moved to Amanda's Frederikshavn sites in 2019
- Amanda Seafoods A/S (Insula) · search the archive · Amanda Seafoods, Frederikshavn, Denmark; 75 staff; 100% owned by Insula since 2017; acquired Bornholms in 2019
- Plast og robotter reddede Nexøs konservesfabrik (Ingeniøren, 2015) · search the archive · Bornholms A/S cannery in Nexø, about 35 staff; fish balls, pâté, smoked mussels, cod roe; fish mainly from Chile and Norway
- Bornholms Torskerogn (Danish Church in Australia shop) · search the archive · Bornholms cod roe, MSC certified, listed in stock on the Danish Church in Australia's shop
- Danish Church in Australia · search the archive · Pennant Hills NSW church with an online shop selling Danish favourites
Company details
- Owned by
- Amanda Seafoods (Insula Group)
- Headquarters
- Denmark
- Employees
- About 75
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Bornholms ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/bornholms, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Other canned and pouched fish brands
Nothing we've rated in canned and pouched fish is better than Lacks transparency yet.
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Bornholms.