Darden: Seafood supplier didn’t use forced labor

ORLANDO, Fla. – Darden Restaurants is confident the seafood it received from supplier Thai Union did not involve forced labor, a company spokesman said Wednesday.

An Associated Press investigation published last week said a supplier of Thai Union imprisoned fisherman on boats harvesting seafood. Thai Union, one of the world’s largest seafood suppliers, has since cut ties with the company accused in the investigation. The AP report did not mention Darden.

The Restaurant Opportunity Center, which is trying to unionize workers at Darden Restaurants, pointed out that the Orlando-based company uses Thai Union as its seafood supplier.

Darden spokesman Rich Jeffers said the company was assured forced laborers were never used in their supply chain.

“Thai Union, one of the world’s largest seafood providers, is a long-standing, valued partner who shares our commitment to ethical business conduct and fair labor practices, and we applaud their decision to immediately terminate their relationship with a single supplier identified in the AP story,” said a statement from the restaurant company.

“It should also be noted that the supplier only provided fish for Thai Union’s pet food supply chain. As a result, our company had no visibility to this supplier and never received product from Thai Union that was originally sourced by this supplier.”

Thai Union supplies Darden Restaurants with shrimp coming from aquaculture farms, Jeffers said.

Thai Union also is a major supplier for Wal-Mart, Safeway and many of the country’s grocers and restaurants.