Botan
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 8 sources
Indonesian canned mackerel and sardine brand of PT Maya Food Industries.
Botan can't show that the workers who make its products in Indonesia earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.
Also worth knowing
It has no full independent audit.
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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 Indonesia, 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
From press and retailer reports; Botan doesn't say where its products are made.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indonesia | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
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 Botan is an Indonesian brand, not a regional import: its distributor PT Indomaya Mas names PT Maya Food Industries as the producer, and Botan mackerel is canned at that company's plant in Pekalongan, Central Java, which also packs other sardine and mackerel brands for national and export markets. In 2018 Indonesia's food regulator BPOM said the mackerel in 11 local brands including Botan was imported frozen from China. The plant also cans tuna, skipjack and sardines, but the fishing boats are not named. No labour policy, supplier or vessel list, certification or crew checks are published.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor lists seafood from Indonesia, where Botan is canned, as produced with child or forced labour. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 8
Show all 8 sources
- US Department of Labor fishing fact sheet · search the archive · Seafood from Indonesia listed as produced with child or forced labour
- Fishery Product From Pekalongan Exported to Asian Countries (Antara, 2016) · search the archive · PT Maya Food Industries named among Pekalongan fish exporters
- Ikan Makarel Bercacing Diduga dari Bahan Baku 2016 (Tirto, 2018) · search the archive · Botan distributor PT Indomaya Mas named PT Maya Food Industri as Botan's producer; the 11 local products used frozen mackerel from China
- 27 Daftar Makerel Bercacing, Ada Merek ABC dan Maya (Viva, 2018) · search the archive · BPOM 2018 list names Botan among 11 locally produced Indonesian canned mackerel brands
- Makarel Saus Teriyaki, BOTAN (BPOM registration via productlist.id) · search the archive · Botan canned mackerel registered by PT Maya Food Industries, Pekalongan, Central Java; valid to 2027
- Penanganan Produk Akhir Botan Mackerel di PT Maya Food Industries Pekalongan (Politeknik Negeri Jember, 2013) · search the archive · Botan Mackerel canned at PT Maya Food Industries, Pekalongan
- Botan Mackerel internship report, chapter 1 (Politeknik Negeri Jember, 2013) · search the archive · PT Maya Food Industries' canned fish serves national and international markets
- PT Maya Food Industries internship report, chapter 1 (Politeknik Negeri Jember, 2019) · search the archive · Pekalongan cannery processes tuna, tongkol, skipjack, sardines, mackerel and snapper
Company details
- Headquarters
- Indonesia
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Botan ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/botan, 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 Botan.