Yeo's
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 10 sources
Singapore-listed Asian food and drinks brand, including canned sardines.
There's no proof Yeo's pays more than the legal minimum, which in Malaysia is below a living wage, and it has no full independent audit.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent Yeo's? Send a right of reply.
Compare Yeo's with another brand
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.
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 Malaysia 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
Yeo's names some of the countries it makes in: Malaysia. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| 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
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 Yeo's canned seafood (sardines, curry cockles and cuttlefish, prawn and anchovy sambal, fish with black beans, tuna) is sold under Yeo Hiap Seng (Malaysia), Shah Alam, and Malaysia is the group's export manufacturing centre; its plants are in Malaysia, Singapore, China and Cambodia. It is not stated whether the fish is canned in its own plants or by contract canneries, nor where the fish is caught. Its sustainability reporting mentions no supplier code, supplier audits, forced labour policy, seafood certification or vessel list. It lists ties to food industry unions in Singapore and Malaysia.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Not listed | Seafood from Malaysia is not on the US Department of Labor's list, though seafood from Indonesia, Thailand, China and Taiwan is. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 10
Show all 10 sources
- US Department of Labor fishing fact sheet · search the archive · Seafood from Malaysia not among countries listed for child or forced labour
- Yeo's to cut 25 Singapore jobs as can production shifts to Malaysia (People Matters, 2026) · search the archive · Can manufacturing consolidated at Johor and Selangor facilities in Malaysia in 2026
- Yeo's Baked Bean in Tomato Sauce 425g (ARC Asian Grocer) · search the archive · Yeo's canned food stocked at a Preston Market, Victoria, grocer
Published by Yeo's or its owner
- Seafood (Yeo's Malaysia) · search the archive · Canned seafood range: sardines, spicy sardine, anchovy and prawn sambal, curry cockles and cuttlefish, fish with black beans, tuna; manufacturer Yeo Hiap Seng (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Shah Alam
- Sardines in Tomato Sauce (Yeo's Singapore) · search the archive · Yeo's sells canned sardines in Singapore; no origin or sourcing stated
- About Yeo's Malaysia · search the archive · Yeo's Malaysia is the manufacturing centre for Yeo's global distribution, supplying Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Europe and the US
- Yeo Hiap Seng Sustainability Report 2021 · search the archive · Plants in Singapore, Malaysia (Shah Alam, Johor, Ipoh), Cambodia and China; Singapore and Malaysia over 90% of capacity; no supplier code or audits described; union memberships
- Yeo Hiap Seng Annual Report 2025 · search the archive · Shah Alam plant in Malaysia; plants in Singapore and China
- Yeo Hiap Seng 2025 Sustainability Report summary · search the archive · 1,542 employees in 2025
- Yeo's Australia & New Zealand · search the archive · Yeo's products sold in Asian stores and mainstream supermarkets in Australia
Company details
- Headquarters
- Singapore
- Employees
- About 1,542
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Yeo's ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/yeos, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Other canned and pouched fish brands
Nothing we've rated in canned and pouched fish is better than Lacks transparency yet.
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Yeo's.