December 2nd 2024.
In China, there is a tomato processing plant that has been under investigation by the BBC. It has been discovered that some of the products labeled as containing "Italian" tomatoes actually contain tomatoes that were grown in China using forced labor. This is a concerning finding, as 17 tomato products, including purée, sold in UK and German supermarkets are likely to contain Chinese tomatoes. Among these products, six are sold in major supermarkets such as Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, and Waitrose. However, all four supermarkets have disputed the results of the testing.
It is worth noting that China is the largest producer of tomatoes globally, with the US and Italy following closely behind. However, most of the Chinese tomatoes come from the Xinjiang region, where there have been reports of forced labor and abuse of Uyghur and other Muslim minorities. Despite these accusations, China has denied any involvement in such practices and claims that workers' rights are protected by law.
As part of their investigation, the BBC spoke to 14 individuals who claimed to have experienced or witnessed forced labor in Xinjiang's tomato fields over the past 16 years. These workers were forced to meet high quotas, some as high as 650kg of tomatoes per day. Those who failed to meet these quotas were subjected to physical abuse, such as beatings or being hit with electric prods. This aligns with the findings of a 2022 UN report on torture and forced labor in Xinjiang detention centers.
It has been discovered that most of the Xinjiang tomatoes are transported by train through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia before being shipped to Italy. One of the companies in Italy, Antonio Petti, has bought a significant amount of these tomatoes, specifically 36 million kg of tomato paste from Chinese companies between 2020 and 2023. During an undercover investigation, a reporter posing as a businessman was informed by Petti that they use Chinese tomatoes. Pictures taken at the factory also confirm this.
In an effort to verify the origin of these products, a company called Source Certain tested 64 tomato purées, most of which claimed to contain Italian tomatoes. The results showed that 17 of these products actually contained Chinese tomatoes, with 10 of them being made by Petti. Out of these 10, six were being sold in UK supermarkets during the time of testing, which took place between April and August 2024. These products include Asda Organic Tomato Puree, Asda Tomato Puree Double Concentrate, Tesco The Grower's Harvest, Tesco Italian Tomato Puree, Morrisons Tomato Puree, and Waitrose Essential Waitrose Tomato Puree.
Upon being informed of these findings, all the supermarkets stated that they take these allegations very seriously and have conducted internal investigations, which did not find any evidence of Chinese tomatoes in their products. Many of them also disputed the testing methodology used. Tesco even suspended supply of their affected products, while Waitrose and Morrisons stated that they had run their own tests, which did not show the presence of Chinese tomatoes.
The UK Department for Business and Trade has also released a statement, saying that they are aware that no company in the UK should have forced labor in their supply chain. They are constantly reviewing their approach to tackling forced labor and environmental harms in supply chains and working internationally to improve global labor standards. This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed and prevented to ensure ethical and fair production of goods.
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