Dive Brief:
- Nestle is the defendant in a class action lawsuit in which a group of nationwide consumers has alleged the company knowingly used a seafood supplier that employs slave labor and human trafficking in Nestle's Fancy Feast supply chain.
- The plaintiffs said they would not have bought Fancy Feast if the products had been labeled as having ties to a supplier, Thai Union Frozen Products PCL, that harvested the fish using forced labor.
- In an emailed statement to Bloomberg, Nestle said that forced labor "has no place in our supply chain." In another emailed statement to Associated Press, the company said that "its guidelines require suppliers to respect human rights. It outlined steps Nestle has taken to rid forced labor from its seafood supply chain."
Dive Insight:
Doing business with a supplier that condones slavery, as Costco was also accused of earlier this month, can be potentially harmful if not addressed with urgency. In a statement, Costco said the company is working with the Thai government, other retailers, and the Thai industry to fix this issue but in the meantime customers can ask for a refund on the products in question.
In Costco's and Nestle's cases, the plaintiffs demand that the products' labels reflect ties to a slavery-driven supplier. Mislabeling issues have been frequent subjects of lawsuits as of late, from natural and organic products to egg-less mayo.
"By hiding this from public view, Nestle has effectively tricked millions of consumers into supporting and encouraging slave labor on floating prisons," Steve Berman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs in the Nestle case, said in a statement.
In related news, Nestle has announced that KitKat will become the first global chocolate brand to sustainably source cocoa for all of its products. This news comes as the chocolate industry faces scrutiny for allegations of child labor in their supply chains.