The Saucy Fish Co.
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Based on what The Saucy Fish Co. publishes, with few independent checks. Researched with AI assistance against published rules. Last researched 23 October 2026 · 8 sources · How we check
UK chilled and frozen fish-with-sauce brand owned by Hilton Food Group.
Until The Saucy Fish Co. 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.
Other salmon and farmed fish brands
2 salmon and farmed fish brands are graded better than The Saucy Fish Co., but we don't know that any of them makes fish fillets and fish fingers.
See every salmon and farmed fish brand · Ask us to grade a salmon and farmed fish brand
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent The Saucy Fish Co.? Send a right of reply.
Compare The Saucy Fish Co. with another brand
Why it's graded Lacks transparency
Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements, with 2 red flags.Open why it has this gradeClose why it has this grade
- Not met: Meets 1 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 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsJudged on where its products are made: worker rights are poorly protected in Thailand, China and Vietnam.
- 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 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
United Kingdom, Thailand, China and 6 more countries.Open where it's madeClose where it's made
From press and retailer reports; The Saucy Fish Co. doesn't say where its products are made. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Regular violations | 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
4 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.
- Makes part of its range in its own factories
- Modern slavery statement
- 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 Saucy Fish products are made in Grimsby, England, by Seachill, which Hilton Food Group bought in 2017 and which runs two large Grimsby plants for chilled salmon and whitefish. Hilton lists its fish sources on the Ocean Disclosure Project, requires SMETA audits from farms to processing sites for seafood from high-risk countries, and chairs the Seafood Ethics Action Alliance, but names no processors or vessels and reports no crew checks. In 2019 its frozen fishcakes launched in about 900 Woolworths stores in Australia.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Statement filed | Parent Hilton Food Group publishes a modern slavery statement covering Seachill UK (2025). View |
Sources and actions
8 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 8
Show all 8 sources
- Seachill targets more listings at mults after Hilton buyout (The Grocer, 2017) · search the archive · Hilton Food Group agreed to buy Seachill, owner of The Saucy Fish Co, from Icelandic Group for £84m
- £20m Waitrose contract boosts Grimsby seafood processor expansion (Salmon Business, 2018) · search the archive · Seachill, owner of The Saucy Fish Co, runs two large Grimsby sites handling chilled salmon and whitefish
- Seachill growth leads to new jobs at UK site (Just Food, 2018) · search the archive · Hilton subsidiary Seachill employs about 1,200 across its Grimsby sites; portfolio includes The Saucy Fish Co
- Saucy Fish Co heads down under (Food Manufacture, 2019) · search the archive · Hilton-owned Saucy Fish Co frozen fishcakes launched in about 900 Woolworths stores in Australia
- Seachill sale: union seeks assurance over 750 jobs (Food Manufacture, 2017) · Seachill, maker of The Saucy Fish Co, employed about 750 in Grimsby; Unite had about 180 production members and sought job-security talks
- Saucy Fish Gains Distribution in Hannaford (SeafoodNews, 2015) · search the archive · Saucy Fish products are produced in Grimsby by Icelandic Seachill
- Hilton Foods raises 2026 outlook (ESM Magazine, 2026) · search the archive · Hilton still runs Seachill, with improvement plans under way in 2026
Published by The Saucy Fish Co. or its owner
- Hilton Foods Modern Slavery Act Statement 2025 · search the archive · Seachill UK in Grimsby in scope; fish sources listed on Ocean Disclosure Project; end-to-end SMETA audits for high-risk seafood; Seafood Ethics Action Alliance chair
Company details
- Headquarters
- United Kingdom
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is The Saucy Fish Co. ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/saucy-fish-co, 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 The Saucy Fish Co..
Choose a better-graded brand
2 brands in salmon and farmed fish are graded higher than The Saucy Fish Co..
See 2 better-graded brands in salmon and farmed fishSearch another brand