The Associated Press investigation the week before Christmas revealing that slave labor routinely is used in Thailand to clean and peel the shrimp that makes its way into major American grocery chain freezers has some locals fretting about whether to serve the nation’s favorite crustacean over the holidays.
AP reporters followed and filmed freshly peeled shrimp coming from locked peeling sheds holding between 50 to 100 people forced to work 16-hour days. The shrimp went to major Thai exporters, and the AP tracked the shipments into the food supply of major chains such as Kroger, Whole Foods and Harris Teeter.
Americans each eat about four pounds of shrimp annually, a total of more than 1.3 billion pounds. C-VILLE Weekly checked with some local markets to see whether the human trafficking news from Thailand has slowed appetites for shrimp and how to buy slave-labor-free shrimp.
“Our customers are aware that we do not sell shrimp from the illicit facilities at issue in the AP’s investigation,” says Kristen Rabourdin, Whole Foods marketing team leader for Charlottesville and Richmond, in an e-mail.
Whole Foods has zero tolerance for human rights abuses, she says, and the company has done its own on-site inspections of Thai Union facilities, one of the exporters named in the AP investigation, and is confident the shrimp supplied to Whole Foods did not come from an illicit processing facility.
“We are encouraged by Thai Union’s decision to swiftly bring all shrimp processing in-house in an effort to ensure transparency and full oversight of their shrimp processing, and we urge the government of Thailand to regulate and enforce issues of labor and human rights within their country,” Rabourdin says.
Pete Morris, who works in the seafood department at Foods of All Nations, has not had customers asking about slave-peeled shrimp. “We have a whole bunch of shrimp,” he says, coming from the Gulf of Mexico, North Carolina, Vietnam and Thailand.
Harris Teeter has had one customer ask, but company spokesperson Danna Robinson in North Carolina refused to say at which store, nor would she reveal whether holiday sales had been impacted.
Harris Teeter, too, is “ deeply concerned” by the AP findings of forced labor and slavery in the seafood supply chain in Southeast Asia, she says. The company audits suppliers annually, and in light of the recent allegations will increase its audits, she says.
“This is a very difficult issue and one that the entire supply chain needs to work together to resolve,” Robinson says. “Harris Teeter renews its call for everyone in the industry, from governments to retailers to suppliers to local fisheries, to take the necessary steps to end these horrific human rights violations.”
Not worried about his supply chain is Chris Arseneault, owner of Seafood @ West Main. The majority of his shrimp is U.S. wild-caught from North Carolina and the Gulf. He carries farm-produced shrimp from Asia, but says, “We buy from highly reputable importers. We’re very selective about who we buy from.” He says he would be shocked if any of his shrimp came from human trafficking.
Arseneault’s advice to consumers squeamish about the source of shrimp? Buy from someone you trust. “We’ve cultivated a level of trust with our customers, who would not expect us to sell products harvested under slave labor conditions.”
He adds, “I have a more elevated level of concern because I’m a professional and those concerns are built into my business model.”
Calls and e-mails to Kroger media relations were not returned.