2023 Statement Relating to UK Modern Slavery Act

This statement by Calbee Group UK Ltd has been published in accordance with Section 54 of the UK Modem Slavery Act 2015.  This Statement has been prepared on behalf of Calbee Group UK Ltd, a UK corporation and covers related efforts made thereby during the period of January 1,2023 through December 31, 2023.

Modern Slavery continues to be prevalent in the UK.  The Home Affairs Committee noted in their First Report of Session 2023-24 estimates of at least 100,000 victims of modern slavery and human trafficking in the UK1.  The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) received 4,138 referrals of modern slavery for Q3 2023 which represents a 4% increase from the previous quarter.2

As a business we continue to focus on serving our customers and looking after our employees whilst maintaining our commitments to trade ethically and responsibly.  This statement details our efforts towards modern slavery throughout 2023.

1. Business Outline

Calbee Group UK Ltd forms part of Japanese global snack-manufacturer, Calbee Inc.

Calbee Group UK Ltd are 100% owned subsidiary and operate a snacks business producing under the Seabrook and Harvest Snaps brands and for private label.  Our supply chain handles potatoes, various cereal and grain flours and vegetable oils as principal materials, while handling seasonings and packaging as secondary materials.

2. Our Commitment

Our policy is to conduct business honestly and ethically, supporting and respecting internationally declared human rights protections.   We recognise that modern slavery can take many different forms and our zero-tolerance approach means we are committed to ensuring we have effective systems and processes to safeguard against any form of to modern slavery or human trafficking within our business or supply chain.

 3. Our Supply Chain

Calbee Group UK Ltd adheres to the requirements of the ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative) Base code, which is established under the Convention of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and is a code of internationally recognised labour practices.

Through membership of Sedex their online platform, tools and services help our business operate responsibly and sustainably whilst supporting us to protect workers.

We consider our main exposure to the risk of slavery and human trafficking lies within the temporary labour pool due to the transient nature of this workforce.  To minimise this risk, we operate a Preferred Supplier List (PSL) for the provision of agency labour and only work with agencies who are part of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, are members of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority and who work with the Stronger Together partnership.

We do not enter into business with any organisation which knowingly supports or is found to involve itself in slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour.  Our suppliers are important to us, and we pride ourselves that many have long standing relationships with us.  All our suppliers are aware of our expectations to work honestly, ethically and in line with all legislation and through our active communication with them, whilst our robust Quality Management System allows us to carry out appropriate risk based due diligence.

We have a zero-tolerance approach, and should we identify that a supplier, customer, or another party within our supply chain has not met the high standards we set we will cease our dealings with them.

4. Relevant Policies

Our HR policies and standards ensure compliance with legislation and are readily available to our employees via our intranet.  Prior to recruitment, we check the eligibility of all our employees to work in the UK, and we pay at least the national minimum wage to our employees.

Our Public Interest Disclosure Policy is available to employees, contractors, agency personnel and business partners providing them with a mechanism to reporting concerns independently relating to modern slavery, any wrongdoing, or any concerns at work without fear of reprisal.

Working with our Agency PSL partners we ensure all staff receive training on our ethical stance.  Throughout 2023 we continue to periodically target training initiatives to staff who have a greatest risk of encountering modern slavery or human trafficking in their day-to-day functions, such as HR, Procurement and Food Technical.  Whilst continuing to provide guidance to line managers on how to identify and manage concerns relating to modern slavery.

Further Efforts

To date no modern slavery concerns have been identified within our business or supply chain however, we remain committed to monitoring the effectiveness of our systems and processes through annual reviews.

We understand that raising awareness is key in addressing the risk of modern slavery and we continue to develop our training in this regard to expand our current provision providing refreshers to our staff on a periodic basis and targeting staff who have a greater risk of encountering modern slavery.

This Statement has been approved by the Group Managing Director of Calbee Group UK Ltd on 18th January 2024.

Daniel Woodwards

Group Managing Director

Calbee Group UK Ltd

18th January 2024

1 https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/42482/documents/211207/default/

2 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/modern-slavery-national-referral-mechanism-and-duty-to-notify-statistics-uk-july-to-september-2023/modern-slavery-national-referral-mechanism-and-duty-to-notify-statistics-uk-quarter-3-2023-july-to-september