Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 9 sources
Philippine canned sardine, mackerel and squid brand of Century Pacific Food.
Ligo can't show that the workers who make its products in the Philippines earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.
Also worth knowing
It has no full independent audit.
Other canned and pouched fish brands
Nothing we've rated in canned and pouched fish is better than Lacks transparency yet.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production 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 2 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 the Philippines, 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
- 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 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Made mostly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of 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
From Ligo's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philippines | 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.
- 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 Century Pacific bought the Ligo brand and its manufacturing plant in Zamboanga, Philippines, in 2022 and makes Ligo sardines, mackerel and squid there; cans sold abroad are labelled Product of the Philippines. Century Pacific runs a smallholder sardine fisher programme in Sorsogon but publishes no vessel list, certification or independent crew checks for Ligo's fish. A 2021 Business & Human Rights Resource Centre survey, reported by the Outlaw Ocean Project, found Century Pacific had no process to address forced labour in its supply chain; in 2024 its Zamboanga sardine plant got an effluent cease-and-desist order.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor lists seafood from the Philippines as produced with child or forced labour. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 9
Show all 9 sources
- Century Pacific Food Inc. plant (Outlaw Ocean Project, Bait to Plate) · search the archive · Reports 2021 BHRRC survey finding Century Pacific had no forced labour process; 2024 cease-and-desist order on Zamboanga sardine plant effluent
- Seafood fact sheet: child labor and forced labor in seafood production (US Department of Labor, ILAB) · search the archive · Lists 20 countries or areas with documented child or forced labour in seafood production, including Thailand, the Philippines, Nicaragua and Peru
- Philippines-based Century Pacific acquires local sardine brand (SeafoodSource) · search the archive · Ligo is a canned sardine brand operating in the Philippines for over 60 years
- Century buys Ligo assets to manufacture canned goods in Zamboanga (ABS-CBN, June 2022) · search the archive · Century Pacific finalised purchase of Ligo assets including the Ligo manufacturing facility in Zamboanga
- Ligo Sardines in Tomato Sauce 425g (ARC Asian Grocer, Preston Market) · search the archive · Sold at an Australian grocer's Preston Market stall in Victoria; labelled Product of the Philippines
- Ligo Green Sardines in Tomato Sauce 15 oz (Walmart) · search the archive · US listing labelled Product of the Philippines
Published by Ligo or its owner
- Ligo (Century Pacific Food brands) · search the archive · Ligo sardines, special sardines, squid and mackerel; brand of Century Pacific Food
- Century Pacific acquires Ligo, a leading brand in the sardine category (press release, 24 Dec 2021) · search the archive · Century Pacific buys Ligo's brand and manufacturing assets from the Tung family
- Century Pacific champions sustainable sardine fishing (2025 Tambuli Awards) · search the archive · Sardine business includes 555 and Ligo; Sustenido Bulan smallholder fisher programme in Sorsogon; no labour standards described
Company details
- Headquarters
- Philippines
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Ligo ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/ligo, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Ligo.