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02/08/2022

Mowi's "100% Scottish" Salmon Imported from Ireland - 100% 'Organic' Bullshit!

 



 

A Freedom of Information disclosure by the Scottish Government late last week (4 February 2022) blows out of the water marketing and advertising claims made by online supermarket Ocado that Mowi's 'organic' salmon is "100% Scottish".  Here's trade data disclosed by the Scottish Government via FOI-2022-00272899 detailing 300,000 parr (young salmon) imported from Mowi in Ireland to on-growing in Mowi's controversial Loch Ness salmon farm:

 

Ireland blog Feb 2022 #1

 

 

 

Scottish Salmon Watch reported last month that the vast majority of ova used on 'Scottish' salmon farms are imported from Iceland, Ireland and Norway so are not "100% Scottish" as claimed by Ocado.

 

 

 

 

The FOI disclosure from the Scottish Government revealed that 582,000 salmon smolts were imported from Ireland in April 2020 to on-grow on Norwegian-owned Mowi's 'organic' salmon farms in Loch Harport and Sconser on the Isle of Skye:
 
 
Sconser Ireland #3
 
 
 
 
 
Scottish Salmon Watch reported in July 2021 that Mowi imported smolts from Ireland for their 'organic' salmon farm at Sconser.
 

 



 
 
 

'Case Information' slipped out by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate revealed that the origin of Mowi's '100% Scottish' organic salmon was 100% Irish (and the ova - salmon eggs - used to source the smolts may well have originally been imported from Iceland or Norway).

 

Salmondemic blog July 2021 #21 Mowi Sconser Ireland

Sconser Ireland #1
Sconser Ireland #2
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
Scottish Salmon Watch reported in November 2021:

 

 

The Fish Health Inspectorate's 'Case Information' for September 2021 (Cases 20210252-20210357) includes details of the use of the carcinogenic chemical Formalin (Formaldehyde) by Mowi in Loch Ness; import of smolts from Mowi's Pettigo hatchery in Ireland as well as fungus, Costia, Saprolgeniasis, mortalities due to vaccinations and the use of the chemical Cress (Bronopol):

 

FHI 2021 Sept cases blog #6 Mowi Loch Ness

FHI 2021 Sept cases blog #7 Mowi Loch Ness

FHI 2021 Sept cases blog #8 Mowi Loch Ness

 
 
 

Last week (3 February 2022), Scamon Scotland contacted Ocado asking for further information to substatiate the green claims made about Mowi's 'organic' Scottish salmon which is marketed as "raised responsibly" and "100% Scottish".

 

 

 

 

Here's Scamon Scotland complaint submitted with Ocado on 3 February 2020:

 

Ocado organic #20 complaint

 

Before filing a formal complaint with Trading and Advertising Standards, could Ocado please provide specific details to substantiate your claims about Mowi's 'Organic' Smoked Salmon marketed online via:

https://www.ocado.com/products/mowi-organic-smoked-salmon-576903011?ds_rl=1291426&ds_rl=1291531&gclid=Cj0KCQiA9OiPBhCOARIsAI0y71DvcTJ3NJ4jOx97DaUE_aIyAbf1zMjZpdvVrjPvBRSsYFCxGFmytE4aApBrEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Ocado claims under 'Product Information' that Mowi's 'organic' salmon is "independently and regularly audited to ensure a responsible use of the environment". 

Scamon Scotland understands that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency no longer conducts environmental monitoring surveys or audits of salmon farms - please read:

https://theferret.scot/fish-farm-pollution-rules-relaxed-brexit/

https://theferret.scot/environmental-rules-salmon-farming-relaxed/

In fact, there is no published data on environmental monitoring surveys since March 2020:

http://aquaculture.scotland.gov.uk/data/environmental_monitoring_surveys.aspx

And there is no published data on environmental surveys for chemical residues under salmon farms since July 2020: http://aquaculture.scotland.gov.uk/data/sealice_in_feed_treatment_residues.aspx

If Ocado is referring to RSPCA, ASC or Soil Association audits these are not independent as they are industry schemes which are no more than greenwashing the toxic salmon farming industry:

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2021/07/rspca-compromised-by-cash-industry-bias.html

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2022/01/open-letter-to-the-asc-please-cancel-all-certification-of-toxic-scottish-salmon-.html

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2021/03/toxic-salmon-corrodes-soil-association-principles.html

Ocado's claim that Mowi's organic salmon is "100% Scottish" is undermined by the fact that ca. 90% of 'Scottish' salmon is sourced from ova (eggs) imported from Iceland, Ireland and Norway and the fact that Mowi imports smolts from Ireland to on-grow on 'organic' salmon farms at Sconser and Harport on the Isle of Skye.

The suggestion by Ocado that Mowi's 'organic' Scottish salmon are "raised responsibly" is simply not true and demands clear evidence from Ocado to back up the green claims. 

The implication is that Ocado's Mowi 'organic' Scottish salmon is environmentally friendly and sustainable (as detailed in yesterday's Grocer article: https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/new-product-development/premium-salmon-brand-mowi-launches-organic-lines-on-ocado/664095.article).  However, the claim of sustainability for Scottish salmon is unfounded and was debased by a ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority back in 2019: https://theferret.scot/loch-duart-sustainable-advertising/

And just last year in the United States, Mowi settled a class action lawsuit which stopped the marketing of "sustainably sourced"  Mowi salmon for 2 years: https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2021/03/mowi-settles-class-action-lawsuit-for-13-million-.html

Just last month, online Scottish salmon retailer The Pished Fish deleted their "sustainable" claims following a complaint by Scottish Salmon Watch: https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2022/01/scamon-alert-the-pished-fish-challenged-over-sustainably-sourced-scottish-salmon.html

In November 2021, Mowi's "responsibly farmed" Scottish salmon (as sold via Tesco and Sainsbury's) was the subject of complaints filed with Trading and Advertising Standards:

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2021/11/gotcha-mowis-responsibly-farmed-scottish-salmon-caught-in-advertising-standards-net-.html

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2021/11/irresponsibly-farmed-scottish-salmon-complaints-filed-vs-supermarkets-with-advertising-trading-stand.html

Further background is detailed via a blog published this morning via:

"Organic Scamon: Ocado Challenged Over Mowi's 'Organic' Credentials - 100% Bullshit not 100% Scottish!": https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2022/02/organic-scamon-ocado-challenged-over-mowis-organic-credentials-.html

Please respond within 7 days or Scamon Scotland will file formal complaints with Trading and Advertising Standards.

Thanks,

Don Staniford

Director, Scamon Scotland

 

Organic Ocado spoof

 

 

 

Ocado replied yesterday (7 February 2022) by passing the buck onto Mowi:

 

From: Ocado Customer Services <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Feb 7, 2022 at 11:59 AM
Subject: RE: I'd like to make a complaint REF: ##32274402##
To: <[email protected]>

Good afternoon Mr Staniford,

I hope this email finds you well.

I have received the following statement from our team:

Hi there. Thank you for getting in touch and making us aware of your concerns. Having investigated together with the supplier, we can confirm that all organic salmon from Mowi is sourced from farms that are fully accredited by the Soil Association. Rest assured, we have very high standards for all our suppliers when it comes to the welfare of animals. If you have any specific queries relating to Mowi products, we'd suggest you contact them directly. Many thanks.

I hope this satisfies your query. If there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know.

Kind regards,

Emily Lonsdale
Ocado Customer Service Team

ocado.com/contactus | 0345 656 1234 | @ocado | facebook.com/ocado
Please include reference number ##32274402## in all email correspondence.

 

 

Mowi Pure Bullshit

 

 

 

Scamon Scotland replied (7 February 2022) by challenging Ocado to produce substantive evidence to back up their green claims by the end of this week or a formal complaint would be filed with Trading and Advertising Standards:

 

From: Don Staniford <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Feb 7, 2022 at 12:52 PM
Subject: Re: I'd like to make a complaint REF: ##32274402##
To: Ocado Customer Services <[email protected]>
 
Thanks for your reply.  However, your response fails to address the concerns raised in our complaint last week; as detailed via:
 
Specifically, Ocado has failed to substantiate the claims on your website that:
 
"MOWI Organic salmon fillets are 100% Scottish and raised responsibly".
 
As detailed in our complaint, Mowi 'organic' salmon is imported as smolts from Ireland and is sourced from ova (eggs) which are not Scottish.  Neither is Mowi salmon "raised responsibly" (Scottish Salmon Watch detailed extensive documentation on this issue in complaints to Trading and Advertising Standards in November 2021).
 
Ocado has failed to provide any evidential information at all on the false claim that Mowi 'organic' salmon is "100% Scottish" and "raised responsibly".  To pass the buck onto Mowi - who does not reply to emails - is simply unacceptable.  Ocado is the advertiser making green claims and you have patently failed to substantiate them which, Scamon Scotland believes, is a breach of the green claims code. 
 
Furthermore, as detailed in our complaint last week, Scamon Scotland takes issue with Ocado's marketing claim that: "MOWI organic salmon (and their feed) is fully traceable plus independent and regularly audited to ensure a responsible use of the environment".
 
The Soil Association profits from certification of farmed salmon as 'organic' even if it is lice-infested and it is farmed via the use of toxic chemicals.  Nor has the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) - the one truly independent agency responsible for auditing environmental impacts - regularly or recently conducted any environmental monitoring surveys or concluded in any shape or form that Mowi is responsible.
 
In fact, The Ferret and Sunday National reported yesterday that SEPA has not been able to perform their environmental functions for years due to a cyber attack: https://theferret.scot/pollution-data-lost-cyber-attack/
 
 
At the end of this week, Scamon Scotland will therefore be filing a formal complaint with Trading and Advertising Standards.  If Ocado wishes to reconsider and provide the substantive documentation requested then it would be still much appreciated.  If Ocado cannot provide the substantiation requested then editing your website's marketing and advertising claims accordingly would be a corrective step to this complaint.
 
 
Thanks,
 
Don Staniford
 
Director, Scamon Scotland

 

 

Mowi Pioneering Reprehensible Farming Utter Shit since 1964 #3

 

 

 

Ocado's failure to correct misleading claims is a breach of the 'Green Claims Code' published by the Competition and Markets Authority in September 2021; namely:

Ireland blog Feb 2022 #3

Ireland blog Feb 2022 #4

 

 

In November 2021, Scottish Salmon Watch filed complaints against supermarkets - including Sainsburys and Tesco for marketing Mowi Scottish salmon as "responsibly farmed" - with Advertising and Trading Standards. 

 

 

 

 

Scottish Salmon Watch wrote to the Advertising Standards Authority on 19 November 2021 attaching substantive evidence to counter Mowi's "responsibly farmed" claim:

 

Here's a complaint filed by Scottish Salmon Watch and Animal Concern which includes 'hard evidence' against Mowi's "responsibly farmed" Scottish salmon:
 
Hopefully you can take enforcement action against Tesco and Sainsbury's and work with CMA and Trading Standards to address the issue of deceptive marketing and misleading advertising of "responsibly farmed" and "responsibly sourced" Scottish salmon. 
 
The Competition and Markets Authority report ‘Green Claims Code’ (20 September 2021) gives scope for coordinated action to address false environmental claims in relation to Scottish salmon.  
 
There is certainly overlap in our complaints and the ASA is copied into:
 
 

Hard Evidence Submitted with CMA & Trading Standards Complaint (19 November 2021)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read more via:

Organic Scamon: Ocado Challenged Over Mowi's 'Responsibly' Farmed Salmon - 100% Bullshit not 100% Scottish!

Mowi's Pure Bullshit (#1 in a regular series): "hardly any chemical treatments at all"

Victory: The Pished Fish Sobers Up to False Claims Over "Sustainable" Scottish Salmon!

Scamon Alert: The Pished Fish Challenged Over "Sustainably Sourced" Scottish Salmon

Greenwashing 'Sustainable' Salmon - how supermarkets brand themselves as "responsible" via ClientEarth!

Supermarkets Investigated by Competition and Markets Authority - "Responsibly Farmed/Sourced" Green Claims Questioned!

Bullshit Called on M&S's "Responsibly Sourced" Scottish Salmon!

Irresponsibly Farmed Scottish Salmon - Complaints Filed Vs Supermarkets with Advertising & Trading Standards!

Media Backgrounder: Irresponsibly Farmed Scottish Salmon

Telegraph: "Cop26 organisers roasted for serving ‘environmentally unfriendly’ salmon"

Scottish 'Organic' Scamon Leaps 181% - 4,462 tonnes to 12,528 tonnes from 2019 to 2020!

National Geographic: "Why you might not be getting the salmon you paid for"

Mowi Caught Importing 'Organic' Smolts from Ireland to On-Grow on Skye - did they follow the SSPO's code & quarantine for three months?

'Organic' Salmon Fit for the Queen? Not Even Fit for Her Dogs!

Net Tightens on Lawsuits vs 'Salmafia' - Cooke "unable to quash lawsuit over deceptive marketing practices"

 
 
 

Mowi Settles Class Action Lawsuit for $1.3 million - prohibited from using phrases "sustainably sourced" & "all natural"

Toxic Salmon Corrodes Soil Association's 'Organic' Principles

Scottish salmon is so not organic!

Organic Salmon Belongs in the Bin Not Your Shopping Basket!

Norwegian Government Asked to Divest from 'Unethical' & 'Irresponsible' Scottish Salmon!

Dutch TV slams "organic" salmon

EXPOSED: Scottish 'Organic' Scamon

Organic” farmed salmon – let’s get real

Loch Duart drops "sustainable" claim after advertising ruling

Organic Scamon - The Greenwashing of Toxic Farmed Salmon

Why organic salmon is causing a nasty smell

Concern over organic salmon farms

"Organically Farmed Salmon Is An Oxymoron" (The Organic Standard, 2001)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix:

 

From: Don Staniford <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, Feb 8, 2022 at 10:22 AM
Subject: Re: I'd like to make a complaint REF: ##32274402##
To: Ocado Customer Services <[email protected]>
 
I strongly suggest your 'team' revisit your response and look at the 'Green Claims Code' published by the Competition and Markets Agency in September 2021:
 
The onus is clearly on Ocado - as the online retailer - to correct the misleading claims of Mowi's products. 
 
 
Best fishes,
 
Don

Posted at 09:47 AM |

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