Van Camp's
Harm on record. Has recent confirmed harm to workers that it hasn't put right.
Based on what Van Camp's publishes, with few independent checks. Researched with AI assistance against published rules. Last researched 23 October 2026 · 11 sources · How we check
Colombian canned tuna brand of Seatech International, packed in Cartagena.
Linked to Unpaid or underpaid wages
In 2025, crews on Van Camp's tuna boats had no contracts, social security or adequate safety, with spoiled food and electrical hazards. There's no public record of Van Camp's putting this right.
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Why it's graded Harm on record
Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements, with 5 red flags.Open why it has this gradeClose why it has this grade
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 5 red flags, 3 of which set the grade: no evidence of a living wage, clear breaches of labour conditions and unaudited production in high-risk countries. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- Holds the grade back: It's Harm on record because of a serious confirmed problem from the last 5 years with no public record of it being put right: labour rights breach, last recorded in 2025.
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 rightsA confirmed problem counts against it: labour rights breach, last recorded in 2025
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No confirmed child or forced labour findings or linksAn unconfirmed report of forced labour is listed below. It doesn't affect the grade.
- 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 5
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Clear breaches of labour conditions
- Red flag: Made mostly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- Red flag: A confirmed problem with pay, rights or safety not shown to be put rightShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 3 red flags that set it.
- 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
Colombia.Open where it's madeClose where it's made
From press and retailer reports. Van Camp's makes its products in its own factories, but we haven't recorded its countries from it yet.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
2 confirmed issues, 2 unconfirmed reports, 3 things we found and what 2 independent sources say.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 Van Camp's tuna is owned by Seatech International and canned at its plant at Mamonal port, Cartagena, Colombia; the brand's Ecuadorian plant in Manta was sold in 1988 and production moved to Colombia in 1991. Colombian-flagged purse seiners linked to Seatech fish yellowfin in the eastern Pacific; in 2012 about 80% of their crews were foreign, many from Ecuador. Seatech says it does not own the boats or employ the crews, though one was registered to it in 2018. It publishes no vessel list, certification or crew checks.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| News reporting and NGO investigations | On file | Colombia's Labour Ministry closed three Seatech tuna vessels for 10 days in October 2025 over missing contracts, social security and safety conditions. View |
| KnowTheChainAnother organisation's rating | Not assessed | Seatech International is not among the 45 companies in the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. 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? |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Colombia's Labour Ministry shut three Seatech tuna boats supplying Van Camp's in Cartagena in October 2025 after finding more than 60 crew had no contracts, social security or adequate safety, with overcrowding, spoiled food and electrical hazards on board (Radio Nacional, Infobae). Source · archived copy | Not knownIn February 2026 Seatech agreed a roadmap with the Labour Ministry to formally hire and insure more than 300 crew; no source yet confirms it is complete. |
| 2023 | After inspecting the Cartagena cannery in 2023, Colombia's Labour Ministry opened eight sanctioning proceedings worth over 3.5 billion pesos against Seatech and its staffing agency; women workers reported pay deductions for bathroom breaks (Portafolio, 2023). Source · archived copy | NoVan Camp's called the minister's claims baseless and announced legal action; no change to pay practices has been reported. |
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.
- During the October 2025 inspection some crew were allegedly hidden or held in a company warehouse, and the Labour Minister referred possible human trafficking to prosecutors (Radio Nacional, Infobae, 2025). Source
- Over 196 Ecuadorian former crew of Seatech's tuna boats say they were never given social security, some after 30 years' work, and an Ecuadorian fisher went missing when the Sea Gem sank near American Samoa in June 2024 (El Espectador, 2024). Source
Sources and actions
11 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 11
Show all 11 sources
- 2026 KnowTheChain Food and Beverage Benchmark (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) · search the archive · 45 companies assessed; Seatech not included
- Procuraduría solicitó información sobre el polémico caso de empresa atunera (El Universal, Dec 2023) · Colombia's Inspector General sought information from Seatech (Van Camp's) and the Labour Ministry over 26 alleged violations incl. pay docked for bathroom time; company and main union deny
- Ministerio de Trabajo cerró por 10 días tres buques de Van Camp's en Cartagena (Radio Nacional, Oct 2025) · archived copy · Three Seatech vessels closed on 10 October 2025; over 60 crew without contracts, social security or safety; overcrowding, spoiled food; trafficking referral
- El Ministerio de Trabajo selló tres buques de Van Camp's en Cartagena (Infobae, Oct 2025) · search the archive · Workers lacked social security and legal contracts; workers said they were held in a warehouse during inspection; 10 days to regularise
- Incendio en barco de Van Camp's destapó escándalo (Infobae, Sept 2025) · search the archive · Fishers on Seatech-supplying boats without social security; about 80% foreign crew; Seatech denies owning boats; Enterprise registered to Seatech in 2018
- Qué encontraron los inspectores de MinTrabajo en su visita a la planta de Van Camp's (Portafolio, Dec 2023) · archived copy · 26 findings, eight sanctioning proceedings over 3.5 billion pesos; bathroom-break pay deductions; company rejected claims and announced legal action
- Los exmarinos de Van Camp's (El Espectador, Dec 2024) · search the archive · Over 196 Ecuadorian ex-sailors claim unpaid social security; Sea Gem sank June 2024 with an Ecuadorian crew member missing
- ¿Quiénes son los dueños del atún Van Camp's? (Pulzo) · search the archive · Owned by Seatech Internacional; plant at Mamonal port, Cartagena; moved from Manta, Ecuador in 1991
- Van Camp's (Las2orillas) · search the archive · Fishing, processing and canning in Cartagena; Manta plant sold to Inepaca in 1988; Colombian-flagged fleet of over 13 vessels
- ¿De quién es Van Camp's? (Blu Radio, Dec 2023) · search the archive · Van Camp's is a trademark of Seatech Internacional, based in Cartagena since 1991
- La ruta del atún, del mar a la lata (El Heraldo, 2016) · search the archive · Cartagena processing plant; chartered purse seiners fish yellowfin in the eastern Pacific
Company details
- Headquarters
- Colombia
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Van Camp's ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/van-camps, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Harm on record 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 Van Camp's.
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