Sourcing fish and seafood for pet food Identifying the precise sources for fish and seafood is difficult. Nestle is one of the biggest food companies in the world, and owns brands such as Perrier, Purina pet food, Haagen-Dazs and Nescafe. Fish and seafood supply chain challenges and solutions 
 
 Overfishing is a global issue within the supply chain. The report conducted by Verite on behalf of Geneva-based Nestle and released Monday found “indicators of forced labor, trafficking, and child labor to be present among sea-based and land-based workers.” The findings, which are consistent with the non-government group’s previous research on Thailand’s fishing industry, “present an urgent challenge to any company sourcing seafood.” 
 
 Thailand’s seafood industry has come under global scrutiny in recent years following reports from media outlets such as the Associated Press, the Guardian and Global Post that showed widespread abuse of workers, mainly migrants from neighboring Cambodia and Myanmar. The European Union threatened earlier this year to ban Thai seafood imports if the country fails to improve the regulation of its fishing industry. Tackling human rights abuses in the Thai seafood supply chain Following an investigation and report (pdf, 832Kb) by our independent NGO partner Verité, we launched an action plan (pdf, 656Kb) on seafood sourced from Thailand. Those actions involve establishing a migrant workforce emergency response team, setting up a grievance mechanism, providing training for captains and boat owners operating in the industry, raising awareness about minimum required labour standards, establishing better traceability of raw materials and enabling verification of labour standards in fishing vessels. Alongside the Thai Government, local seafood suppliers and international buyers, we also continue to participate in the multi-stakeholder ILO Working Group, which is seeking collaborative solutions to improve labour conditions in Thailand’s complex seafood export industry. ‘Complex Issue’ 
 
 “Nestle is committed to eliminating forced labor in our seafood supply chain in Thailand, working alongside other stakeholders to tackle this serious and complex issue," Magdi Batato, executive vice president of operations at the company, said in a statement.
– Something to ponder about the origins of your seafood: A new report commissioned by food giant Nestle finds that most seafood workers in Thailand—the world's biggest exporter of shrimp—are migrants from Cambodia or Myanmar brought into the country illegally by traffickers and sold to boat captains, who force them to work 16-hour days, seven days a week, reports the New York Times. As expected with such a schedule, they suffer chronic sleep deprivation. They also work in hazardous conditions and face physical and verbal abuse from captains, who withhold their personal documents, the report notes, per CNNMoney. "Sometimes, the net is too heavy, and workers get pulled into the water and just disappear," a Burmese worker says in the report. "When someone dies, he gets thrown into the water." The revelations don't stop there. The report also finds workers—including child workers—have an inadequate supply of water and limited access to medical care. Some toil for over a year before getting paid, while others are charged fees that leave them in debt. Nestle—which is facing a lawsuit claiming its Fancy Feast cat food comes from slave labor—acknowledges that seafood caught under these conditions ends up in its supply chain. But "virtually all companies sourcing seafood in the Thai seafood sector are exposed to the same risks," it says. The company, which encountered similar labor complaints regarding its chocolate business in 2001, has issued an action plan to cut down on abuse, which includes a way for workers to make complaints and training for boat captains, per Bloomberg.