News
Bread manufacturer that exploited modern slavery victims supplied several UK retailers
Nine victims were made to work for a company that traded under the names Arnaouti Pitta Bread Bakery and Michael's Pitta Bread.
The business operated two sites in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, and Tottenham, North London, which it used for the production of private label pitta bread and other baked products.
According to the BBC, the manufacturer had in the past supplied products to Asda, Co-op, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.
The victims were exploited over a period of more than four years before police were informed in 2019.
After the legal process was delayed due to the Covid pandemic, six members of a family-run human trafficking network from Czechia were finally convicted during two criminal trials which took place at the end of 2023.
With reporting restrictions now lifted, it has been revealed that the gang forced a total of 16 people to work at either the bakery firm or a branch of McDonald’s in Cambridgeshire.
BRC statement
In response, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) issued a statement on the behalf of its members named in the BBC report.
“Protecting the welfare of people and communities working in the retail industry is of the upmost importance to all of our members,” said Sophie De Salis, human rights lead at the BRC.
“Modern slavery can occur in every country, industry and sector, often hidden from view and fuelled by systemic issues, meaning it is extremely challenging for businesses and governments to combat it.
“When retailers are made aware of any practices that fall short of the high standards expected, they thoroughly investigate and take swift action. Nonetheless, it is important that the retail industry learns from cases like this to continually strengthen due diligence.”
Meanwhile, a Co-op spokesperson commented: “We are committed to protecting the welfare and safety of the people in our supply chain and we actively work to tackle the shocking issue of modern slavery both in the UK and abroad, publicly reporting all findings every year.”
"We take modern slavery very seriously," added a Waitrose spokesperson. "We stopped working with Michael's Pitta three years ago after our audits raised concerns about factory standards and conditions."
Food Manufacture has also reached out to the other retailers named by the BBC.
In other news, Sophie Tuson and Eve Matthews from law firm RPC break down the potential impact of the EU's new flagship supply chain law – the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.
