Chinese forced labour claims over ‘Italian’ tomato puree in UK supermarkets

Several major British supermarkets have been accused of selling “Italian” tomato puree that contains tomatoes sourced from China’s Xinjiang region, where Beijing is accused of employing forced labour practices.

Products like Tesco’s “Italian Tomato Purée” and Waitrose’s “Essential Tomato Purée” allegedly contain Chinese produce despite being labelled Italian, the BBC reported.

The broadcaster commissioned a test which found that 17 products, sold mostly by UK and German brands, contained tomatoes from Xinjiang, even though their labels suggested they were of Italian origin.

Xinjiang, where human rights groups have accused China of committing abuses, produces a significant share of China’s tomatoes. Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim minorities are reportedly forced to work in tomato fields there under harsh conditions.

The UN cites what it says are credible reports that one million Muslims held in camps have been put to work in Xinjiang, and faith leaders and activist groups claim crimes against humanity, including genocide, are taking place in the region. A 2022 UN report detailed allegations of forced labour and torture in Xinjiang detention centres.

China denies mistreating Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities and says the camps are vocational training centres designed to fight extremism.

Xinjiang tomatoes usually reach Europe via train through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia, where they are shipped onward to Italy, an analysis of shipping data by the BBC found.

The analysis highlighted Antonio Petti, an Italian tomato-processing firm, as a key importer of Xinjiang tomato paste, receiving over 36 million kg between 2020 and 2023.

In an undercover investigation by the BBC, Pasquale Petti, general manager of the Petti group, admitted that the company used Chinese tomatoes to reduce costs.

“No one in Europe wants Chinese tomatoes. But if for you it is OK, we will find a way to produce the best price possible,” he said.

Lidl acknowledged using Chinese tomatoes briefly in Germany due to supply issues.

Petti denied current links to forced labour, stating that it no longer imports from the Chinese company Xinjiang Guannong and is enhancing supplier monitoring.

But evidence suggests ties between Xinjiang Guannong and another supplier, Bazhou Red Fruit, used by Petti.

“In future we will not import tomato products from China and will enhance our monitoring of suppliers to ensure compliance with human and workers’ rights,” Petti said.

A Tesco spokesperson told The Independent it suspended “supply from the site as soon as we were made aware of these claims”.

The multinational retailer asserted its commitment to “protecting the rights of everyone working in our supply chain” and added that it works “hard to ensure the authenticity of the products” sold.

“Our investigation of these claims is ongoing, and we would urge the BBC to share their data to aid this investigation. The BBC acknowledges the testing method used for this programme is not a definitive ‘proof of origin’,” the spokesperson said. “Trace Element Analysis testing alone cannot prove that a sample does not originate from the claimed country and therefore these results, in isolation, are not conclusive. Nonetheless, we are thoroughly investigating these claims.”

Rewe said it withdrew the products involved “as a precautionary measure” in October, but said that its own investigations “rule out Xinjiang as the origin of the raw materials used in our products”.

“We have also found no evidence that our products have been mixed with products of Chinese origin,” a statement read. “We therefore consider the allegations to be clearly refuted and reject them as demonstrably unfounded,” it said, adding that “there is no misleading of consumers as to the origin of the tomatoes”.

Some of the supermarkets, including Waitrose and Morrisons, disputed the methodology used and denied sourcing Chinese tomatoes.

“Our policy is clear: we do not permit ingredients or finished products from Xinjiang. We took these allegations very seriously and immediately undertook our own audit of the supplier and commissioned our own testing using independent, accredited laboratories,” Morrisons said in a statement to The Independent.

“The audit gave us full confidence that the tomato puree in the products was from an approved source in California, USA.”

Unlike the US, which banned imports from Xinjiang in 2021, the UK relies on corporate self-regulation.

The Independent has contacted Waitrose, Antonio Petti and Lidl for comment.

In February, Forbes carried out a similar investigation and found canned tomatoes and pastes produced in Xinjiang were being sold by major US retailers such as Amazon and Walmart despite the American import ban.

At the time, products from Hebei Tomato Industry, which openly sources raw materials from Xinjiang, were listed by third-party sellers on platforms like Amazon and Walmart.

Hebei Tomato did not respond to requests for comment.

An Amazon spokesperson said in response to the Forbes report that the company complies with the law and suspends privileges to sell a product when it finds or receives proof of forced labour. Walmart did not respond at the time.

In 2021, at the time of the import ban, US Customs and Border Protection agency found the country imported $10m worth of tomato products from China in the previous year.

The Independent has contacted Amazon and Walmart to understand what, if any, action they have taken since the Forbes report was published.