Labour Lens

Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.

Last researched 23 October 2026 · 7 sources

Philippine canned corned tuna brand of CDO Foodsphere.

San Marino 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.

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Why it's graded Lacks transparency

  • Not met: Meets 1 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 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.

How grades are decided


Good requirements 1 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 the Philippines and Thailand, 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
  • 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: 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 press and retailer reports; San Marino doesn't say where its products are made. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.

Where it's made, and conditions there
CountryWorker rightsLegal minimum wageForced labour risk
PhilippinesNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageModerate
ThailandUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageModerate
ChinaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageModerate
VietnamUsual for the industrySystematic violationsWell below a living wageModerate
IndonesiaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageModerate
IndiaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageHigh
AustraliaUsual for the industryStrong protectionsAbout a living wageLow
EcuadorUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageModerate
NorwayUsual for the industryStrong protectionsAbout a living wageLow

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.
  • 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 San Marino is the flagship brand of CDO Foodsphere, a Philippine meat and canned food maker, and is separate from Century Pacific's Century Tuna. Foodsphere lists its San Marino canned tuna on the Philippine government's export catalogue as its own canned product, but it does not name the cannery, say where its tuna is caught or by which boats, or report any certification or social audits. It publishes no modern slavery statement, supplier list or vessel list, and no independent checks of fishing crews or cannery workers are reported.

What independent sources say

SourceResultDetails
News reporting and NGO investigationsNot coveredNeither San Marino nor CDO Foodsphere is among the 20 companies in Greenpeace Southeast Asia's 2020 canned tuna ranking. View
KnowTheChainNot coveredCDO Foodsphere is not among the companies in the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. View
US Department of Labor goods listsListedThe US Department of Labor lists fish from the Philippines for child labour, and from China and Taiwan's distant-water fleets for forced labour. View

Sources and actions

Sources 7

Show all 7 sources
  1. 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) · search the archive · CDO Foodsphere not among the companies assessed
  2. List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor: fish (US Department of Labor) · search the archive · Fish from the Philippines listed for child labour; China and Taiwan distant-water fleets for forced labour
  3. San Marino bids for bigger market share (Philippine Star, 2012) · search the archive · Foodsphere Inc. makes San Marino corned tuna
  4. San Marino Corned Tuna: consistent quality rewarded (Atuna, 2026) · search the archive · San Marino is the flagship brand of CDO Foodsphere Inc.; corned tuna launched in the Philippines in 2009
  5. San Marino Corned Tuna (Foodsphere, Inc., IFEX Connect) · search the archive · Listed by Foodsphere, Inc. on the Philippine export catalogue as a canned product; HACCP and Halal certification only
  6. Southeast Asia Canned Tuna Ranking 2020 (Greenpeace Southeast Asia) · search the archive · CDO Foodsphere and San Marino are not among the 20 ranked companies
  7. San Marino tuna (Weee! online grocer) · search the archive · San Marino corned tuna sold by a US online Asian grocer; no Australian stockist found

Company details

Headquarters
Philippines
Last researched
23 October 2026
Cite this page
Labour Lens, "Is San Marino ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/san-marino, 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 San Marino.