Bumble Bee
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 12 sources
US canned tuna and seafood brand owned by Taiwan's tuna trader FCF.
Forced labour was found in Bumble Bee's supply chain in 2019, which it hasn't put right, and it has no full independent audit.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent Bumble Bee? Send a right of reply.
Compare Bumble Bee with another brand
Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 0 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 forced or child labour. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour, last recorded in 2019) is more than 5 years old.
- 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 0 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 China, 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
- Not 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: Forced, slave or child labour found in or linked to its supply chain
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
Bumble Bee says it makes products in the United States. Product labels show 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 |
| United States | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| 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.
- Makes part of its range in its own factories
- Traces most of its fish and seafood to named fishing boats or farms
- It traces some of its catch or holds environmental labels such as MSC, ASC or BAP, but doesn't show both that its catch is traced to the boat or farm and that crews' or farm workers' conditions are checked independently.
Research notes Bumble Bee cans tuna at its own plant in Santa Fe Springs, California, which is closing in phases by March 2027; flavoured tuna is labelled Product of Thailand and its outside processors are not named. Parent FCF supplies most of its albacore and arranges catch, transshipment and crews for supplying boats. Labour measures are a supplier code, a third-party grievance channel on 42% of supplying vessels (2022) and vessel audits with crew interviews of undisclosed reach. Only part of the range is MSC certified.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Listed | Bumble Bee was in the failing group of Greenpeace USA's 2017 canned tuna ranking of 20 brands, which assessed fair treatment of workers; no newer edition covers it. View |
| US forced-labour import bans (UFLPA Entity List, CBP Withhold Release Orders) | Problem found | US Customs confirmed forced labour on the Da Wang, a Taiwanese vessel that Greenpeace traced to Bumble Bee's supply chain, in January 2022. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | The Resource Centre lists Bumble Bee's answers to its Pacific canned tuna surveys (2018 and 2021) and stories on the 2022 Greenpeace report and the 2025 fishers' lawsuit. View |
| KnowTheChain | Not covered | Neither Bumble Bee nor FCF is among the 45 companies in the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor lists seafood from Taiwan, China, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines as produced with child or forced labour. View |
Confirmed issues 1
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Greenpeace East Asia's 2022 investigation traced Bumble Bee tuna to the Taiwanese vessel Da Wang, where US Customs confirmed forced labour and a migrant fisher died on a 2019 trip, and found forced labour indicators, mainly withheld wages and held identity papers, among fishers on six other vessels supplying Bumble Bee. Source · archived copy | NoBumble Bee and FCF did not respond to Greenpeace's findings, and no remedy for the fishers has been reported. |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- Four Indonesian fishers sued Bumble Bee in a US federal court in March 2025, alleging beatings, unpaid wages and forced labour on three Chinese-flagged vessels that supplied its albacore through FCF; in November 2025 the court allowed the case to proceed (Greenpeace USA, 2025; Opinio Juris, 2026). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 12
Show all 12 sources
- Investigation finds suspected human rights abuse by suppliers of major US and Taiwanese seafood company (Greenpeace, Sept 2022) · archived copy · Six vessels supplying Bumble Bee and FCF showed forced labour indicators; Da Wang catch supplied Bumble Bee; FCF and Bumble Bee did not respond
- Landmark US ruling allows Indonesians to proceed with lawsuit against Bumble Bee for forced labor (Greenpeace USA, Nov 2025) · search the archive · Four Indonesian fishers' TVPRA suit filed March 2025; court let it proceed on 12 November 2025
- Bumble Bee Foods (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) · search the archive · Pacific canned tuna survey responses 2018 and 2021; stories on Greenpeace report and fishers' lawsuit
- Bumblebee to lay off 230 employees, close California plant (SeafoodSource) · search the archive · Bumble Bee tuna processing plant in Santa Fe Springs, California closing in phases through March 2027
- Greenpeace ranks the best and worst canned tuna choices for American consumers (SeafoodSource, April 2017) · search the archive · Bumble Bee in the failing group of 20 brands; ranking assessed social responsibility
- Evidence persists of IUU, forced labor in Taiwanese fleet, including on FCF-linked vessels (SeafoodSource, March 2020) · search the archive · Bumble Bee's Vessel Social Responsibility Program audits vessels with crew interviews in Mauritius and Fiji; coverage to grow
- Fake My Catch: The unreliable traceability in our tuna cans (Greenpeace East Asia, 2022) · search the archive · Trace My Catch names supplying vessels but data incomplete or wrong; US CBP confirmed forced labour on Da Wang, which supplied Bumble Bee on a 2019 trip when a fisher died
- Akhmad et al v Bumble Bee Foods: corporate accountability for forced labour in high seas fisheries (Opinio Juris, June 2026) · search the archive · Three Chinese-flagged vessels; FCF arranged transshipment and crew; Bumble Bee sources 95-100% of albacore from FCF; case ongoing
- Bumble Bee Wild Caught Sweet Heat Tuna (Food Lion) · search the archive · Country of origin: Product of Thailand
- Bumble Bee Foods announces new MSC certified Wild Selections products (MSC) · search the archive · MSC-certified Wild Selections line covers only part of the range
- Bumble Bee Seafood Company releases its 2022 Seafood Future report (Business Wire) · search the archive · Worker voice grievance programme with FCF on 42% of supplying vessels, run through third-party NGOs
Published by Bumble Bee or its owner
- Bumble Bee Seafood Company continues to accelerate sustainability action plans (Bumble Bee, May 2021) · search the archive · MSC assessments for longline fisheries covering about half of its albacore; brands sold in the US, Canada and over 50 markets
Company details
- Owned by
- FCF Co., Ltd. (Taiwan)
- Headquarters
- United States
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Bumble Bee ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/bumble-bee, 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 Bumble Bee.