Tesco Seafood
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 30 October 2026 · 9 sources
Tesco's own-label fish and seafood: canned, chilled and frozen, sold in the UK.
Tesco Seafood's supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2023, which it has only partly acted on, and 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 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 4 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production in high-risk countries, 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, which the company has only partly acted on.
- 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 rightsMost of its products are made in countries such as China 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
- Not 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 listPublishes its supplier 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 wage
- Red flag: Made mostly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- 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 3 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 Tesco Seafood's own disclosure: it publishes its supplier list. Its list covers only part of its range. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | Not given | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| ThailandUsual for the industry | 18% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | 13% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | 7% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | 7% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| AustraliaUsual for the industry | 7% | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| United Kingdom | 7% | Regular violations | Close to a living wage | Low |
| Ecuador | 6% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| United States | 4% | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| NorwayUsual for the industry | 3% | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Türkiye | 2% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| Spain | 2% | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
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.
- Publishes supplier list
- 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 Tesco publishes a list of its first-tier food sites; the seafood sites named on it are in the UK (3), the US (2, Alaska salmon canneries), Vietnam, Ecuador, Turkey, Spain and Iceland (1 each), so these shares cover only its direct seafood suppliers and leave out products bought through importers. Its Ocean Disclosure Project profile names fisheries and farms by country (farmed salmon from Norway, UK and Ireland; prawns from Vietnam and Saudi Arabia; pangasius from Vietnam), but not boats. It targets 100% MSC tuna by 2025; some lines are ASC or BAP certified. No vessel-level crew checks such as RFVS are reported.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| KnowTheChain | Listed | Tesco scored 42 out of 100 and ranked 4th of 45 in KnowTheChain's 2026 food and beverage benchmark, down 10 points from 2023; seafood is not listed among its assessed commodities. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Tesco responded on 20 October 2023 to a request about Uyghur forced labour and migrant worker abuse in seafood supply chains, confirming it sourced from Shandong Haidu and Qingdao Tianyuan. 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 reported in 2023 that Chinese seafood plants in Tesco's supply chain were linked to Uyghur workers sent under state labour transfers and to North Korean labour; Tesco confirmed it had sourced from Shandong Haidu and Qingdao Tianyuan Aquatic Foodstuffs (BHRRC, 2023). Source · search the archive | PartlyTesco confirmed sourcing from Shandong Haidu and Qingdao Tianyuan and said it was working with Sedex, Seafish and the ETI; no exit from either plant has been reported. |
| 2014 | Link through a supplierA 2014 Guardian investigation found that CP Foods fed its farmed prawns with fishmeal bought from suppliers whose Thai fishing boats used slave labour; Tesco was named among supermarkets selling CP Foods prawns (FoodNavigator, 2014). Source · archived copy | PartlyTesco said slavery was unacceptable and that it was working with CP Foods, the ILO and the Ethical Trading Initiative to make the supply chain slavery-free. |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- Tesco did not answer a 2018-19 Business & Human Rights Resource Centre survey of 35 tuna companies and supermarkets on slavery in tuna supply chains; it said it had missed the survey and pointed to its Seafood Task Force membership (Eco-Business, 2019). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 9
Show all 9 sources
- Tesco response to Uyghur forced labour & migrant worker abuse in seafood supply chains (BHRRC, 2023) · search the archive · Tesco confirmed sourcing from Shandong Haidu and Qingdao Tianyuan; cites ETI Base Code, Protector Lines, work with Sedex, Seafish and ETI
- Tesco UK: China, the superpower of seafood (Outlaw Ocean Project discussion) · search the archive · Tesco-linked plants include Shandong Haidu; a supplier received Xinjiang workers under state transfers; North Korean labour evidence; Tesco referred questions to the BRC
- Qingdao Tianyuan Aquatic Foodstuffs (Outlaw Ocean Project, Bait to Plate) · search the archive · Plant tied to the use of Uyghur workers at its facilities
- KnowTheChain 2026 food and beverage scorecard: Tesco · search the archive · 42/100, rank 4 of 45; discloses first-tier supplier list; Issara grievance channels in Thailand
- Seafood slavery: Asian slave labour producing prawns for European and US retailers (FoodNavigator, 2014) · archived copy · CP Foods admitted slave labour in its fishmeal supply chain; Tesco named as a buyer and said it was working with CP Foods, the ILO and ETI
- Canned tuna brands found failing to combat slavery in supply chains (Eco-Business, 2019) · search the archive · Tesco among 15 companies that did not respond to BHRRC tuna survey; says it is part of the Seafood Task Force
- Tesco Ocean Disclosure Project profile 2023 · search the archive · Wild and farmed sources by country; ASC and BAP for some farmed lines; 100% MSC tuna target by 2025; no named vessels
Published by Tesco Seafood or its owner
- Tesco UK Stores Ltd: first tier food and grocery non-food sites (2024 list, updated August 2025) · search the archive · First-tier site list; seafood sites include Kim An Seafood (Vietnam), Eurofish (Ecuador), Canfisco Ketchikan and Naknek (US), Eurtug Balik (Turkey), Kampi (Iceland), three UK sites
- About us (Tesco PLC) · search the archive · Multinational retailer with more than 330,000 colleagues; no Australian operations listed
Company details
- Owned by
- Tesco PLC
- Headquarters
- United Kingdom
- Last researched
- 30 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Tesco Seafood ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/tesco-seafood, last researched 30 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 Tesco Seafood.