Labeyrie
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 10 sources
French smoked salmon, foie gras and seafood brand of Labeyrie Fine Foods.
Labeyrie publishes no certification, independent audit or supplier list.
Also worth knowing
Its supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2023.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 4 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, a hidden supply chain, forced or child labour 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: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour link, last recorded in 2023) was a link through a supplier, not a finding against the company itself.
- 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
- Met: Respects worker rights
- 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 4
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wageShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Hidden supply chain: no certification, independent audits or supplier list
- Red flag: Forced, slave or child labour found in or linked to its supply chain
- 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
Product labels show Norway. Press and retailer reports name France. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| France | Regular violations | 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 |
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
- 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 Labeyrie smoked salmon is sliced and packed at the group's Saint-Geours-de-Maremne plant in France, but some packs list Norway as the country of manufacture without naming the processor. Its farmed salmon comes from Norway and Scotland and is certified to the group's own label, not ASC; wild salmon is MSC certified. The group has 14 plants in France, the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands making other brands. It relies on a supplier code, Sedex and FNET; no farm-worker audits such as GRASP or supplier list are published.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Listed | Labeyrie Fine Foods ranked 10th of 30 in the World Benchmarking Alliance's 2023 Seafood Stewardship Index, scoring 30.2/100 and 5.3/40 on social responsibility. View |
| KnowTheChain | Not covered | Labeyrie Fine Foods is not among the companies assessed in the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. View |
Confirmed issues 2
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? |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Link through a supplierThe Outlaw Ocean Project (2023) linked Lyons Seafoods, a UK Labeyrie Fine Foods company, to Chinese processors Shandong Haidu and Yantai Sanko, which it said received Uyghur workers through state labour transfers up to 2023; Labeyrie-brand products were not named. Source · search the archive | Not knownLabeyrie said it had assurances no Xinjiang labour was used and denied using one of the chains; no audit results or ending of supply were published. |
| 2023 | Link through a supplierThe Outlaw Ocean Project (2023) reported that Chinese processors Donggang Haimeng and Donggang Jinhui, which it linked to Delpierre, another Labeyrie Fine Foods brand, used North Korean workers after the 2019 UN repatriation deadline. Source · search the archive | Not knownLabeyrie Fine Foods called the findings extremely concerning and cited its supplier code, but did not answer questions on the suppliers. |
Sources and actions
Sources 10
Show all 10 sources
- Labeyrie Fine Foods (Lyons Seafoods) - Outlaw Ocean Project discussion · search the archive · Shandong Haidu and Yantai Sanko linked to Lyons Seafoods; Xinjiang labour transfers 2019-2023; Labeyrie replies citing assurances
- Labeyrie Fine Foods (Delpierre) - Outlaw Ocean Project discussion · search the archive · Donggang Haimeng and Donggang Jinhui linked to Delpierre; North Korean workers after 2019; specific questions unanswered
- 2023 Seafood Stewardship Index rankings (World Benchmarking Alliance) · search the archive · Labeyrie Fine Foods 10th of 30, 30.2/100, social responsibility 5.3/40
- 2026 KnowTheChain Food and Beverage Benchmark (BHRRC) · search the archive · Companies assessed in 2026; Labeyrie not included
- Labeyrie invests four million euros in new salmon cutting unit (SalmonBusiness, 2017) · search the archive · Salmon cutting unit at Saint-Geours-de-Maremne, France, 250 staff rising to 700 in season; exports to Europe, Middle East and Far East
- Labeyrie to transfer closed salmon processor to other site (SalmonBusiness, 2019) · search the archive · Wisches smokehouse closing, work moved to group plants such as Saint-Geours-de-Maremne and Fécamp
- UK retailers, suppliers cut ties with Chinese processors alleged to have used Uyghur laborers (SeafoodSource, 2023) · search the archive · Lyons Seafoods, a Labeyrie subsidiary, named as a customer of Chishan Group; Labeyrie 'extremely concerned'
- LABEYRIE Saumon fumé de Norvège (Auchan) · search the archive · Retail listing gives Norway as country of manufacture; operator Labeyrie Fine Foods France
- Labeyrie saumon fumé sauvage du Pacifique MSC (Auchan) · search the archive · Retail listing gives France as country of manufacture; MSC certified wild salmon
Published by Labeyrie or its owner
- Labeyrie Fine Foods Sustainability Report 2021-22 · search the archive · 14 sites in France, UK, Belgium, Netherlands; 3,720 staff; Norwegian and Scottish salmon; farmed salmon certified to own label; wild salmon MSC; supplier code; owned by PAI and Lur Berri
Company details
- Headquarters
- France
- Employees
- About 3,720
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Labeyrie ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/labeyrie, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Better-graded salmon and farmed fish
New Zealand King SalmonMissing: a traced catch with crews or farm workers checked · Fish & seafoodFarmed king salmonPays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.On TrackPartly verifiedPetunaMissing: a traced catch with crews or farm workers checked · Fish & seafoodFarmed Tasmanian ocean trout and salmonPays or is working towards a living wage, with gaps still to close.On TrackPartly verified
No salmon and farmed fish brand selling new goods is Good yet. These are the strongest so far.
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Labeyrie.