Ortiz
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Based on what Ortiz publishes, with few independent checks. Researched with AI assistance against published rules. Last researched 23 October 2026 · 7 sources · How we check
Basque family company canning white tuna, anchovies and sardines in Spain.
Until Ortiz 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
Meets 3 of 6 Good requirements, with 2 red flags.Open why it has this gradeClose why it has this grade
- 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
Spain, Thailand, China and 6 more countries.Open where it's madeClose where it's made
From Ortiz's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories. Its list covers only part of its range. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | Strong protections | Close to 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 |
| NorwayUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
Evidence
3 things we found and what 1 independent source says.Open the evidenceClose the 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 Ortiz is a fifth-generation family business that has canned fish in Ondarroa, on Spain's Basque coast, since 1891, and its anchovies are cleaned, filleted and packed by hand by its own workers. It says much of its bonito and anchovy is line-caught locally, but publishes no vessel list, holds no MSC or other certification for most of its range, and reports no checks of crews, no supplier code and no labour policy. Women in Bizkaia's canning sector struck in 2021-22 over low pay and precarious contracts; Ortiz was not named.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| News reporting and NGO investigations | On file | Placed last in Greenpeace Spain's first canned tuna ranking in 2013; no newer Greenpeace result covers Ortiz. View |
Sources and actions
7 sources, company details, and how to send evidence or a right of reply.Open the sources and company detailsClose the sources and company details
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Greenpeace: none of Spain's canned tuna worthy of green rating (Undercurrent News, 2013) · search the archive · Conservas Ortiz placed at the bottom of Greenpeace Spain's first canned tuna ranking
- Conservas Ortiz: the heritage of hand-crafted fish (Brindisa) · search the archive · Much of Ortiz's bonito and anchovy caught locally by rod and line; anchovies cleaned, filleted and packed by hand by long-serving workers
- Whole Foods buyers followed to Spain (Talkhouse) · search the archive · Ortiz is a fifth-generation family-owned company in Ondarroa, Basque Country
- Ortiz Anchovies in Olive Oil 47.5g (Panetta Mercato) · search the archive · Ortiz anchovies sold by Panetta Mercato, which has six stores in Sydney
- Huelgas teñidas de violeta: las trabajadoras de conservas de Bizkaia (Izquierda Diario, 2021) · search the archive · Women in Bizkaia's fish canning sector struck in November 2021 over the gender pay gap and precarious work; no company named
Published by Ortiz or its owner
- The story of Conservas Ortiz (Conservas Ortiz) · search the archive · Founded in Ondarroa in 1891; company address in Ondarroa, Vizcaya; buys north coast line-caught tuna; no certifications or labour audits mentioned
- Canned products (Conservas Ortiz) · search the archive · Range of white tuna, anchovies, sardines, mackerel and tuna; describes itself as a small canning company on the Basque coast; no plants named beyond Ondarroa
Company details
- Headquarters
- Spain
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Ortiz ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/ortiz, 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 Ortiz.
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