FRoSTA
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 5 sources
German frozen food maker selling fish fillets, fish fingers and meals.
Until FRoSTA 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 FRoSTA's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Poland | Regular violations | Close to 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.
- 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 FRoSTA makes its fish products in its own plants in Bremerhaven, Germany and Bydgoszcz, Poland, cutting fillets from frozen fish blocks bought in; where those blocks are filleted and frozen is not disclosed. Its fish fingers use MSC-certified Alaska pollock from the Northeast Pacific, and a code on each pack shows ingredient origins, but it names no vessels or processors. Since 2020 it requires suppliers in risk countries to hold SA8000 or SMETA certification and says its supply chain law checks found no significant deficiencies in 2025.
Sources and actions
Sources 5
Show all 5 sources
- FRoSTA Geschäftsbericht 2025 · search the archive · Plants in Bremerhaven, Bobenheim-Roxheim, Lommatzsch and Bydgoszcz; 1,849 staff; 63% of sales in Germany; SA8000 or SMETA required in risk countries since 2020; LkSG checks
Published by FRoSTA or its owner
- FRoSTA FAQ (FRoSTA AG) · search the archive · Fish products made at the Bremerhaven plant; the Bydgoszcz, Poland plant manufactures fish products
- 15 Fischstäbchen (FRoSTA) · search the archive · MSC-certified Alaska pollock caught in the Northeast Pacific; cut from blocks and processed in Bremerhaven; pack code shows origins
- Unsere Zutaten (FRoSTA) · search the archive · Ingredient tracker shows origin per pack; seafood range includes Alaska pollock, wild salmon, shrimp and mussels
- Nachhaltigkeit (FRoSTA) · search the archive · States goods are made with respect for human rights across the value chain; no vessel or processor list
Company details
- Headquarters
- Germany
- Employees
- About 1,849
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is FRoSTA ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/frosta, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Other frozen fish and seafood brands
Nothing we've rated in frozen fish and seafood 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 FRoSTA.