Since its foundation in 2013, C Food Norway has been a pioneer in utilising residual raw materials from whitefish to provide consumer products. We have built up a business model based on developing and selling residues from Norwegian cod, saithe, ling and tusk for food.

Making better use of resources is one solution for increasing global food supply. Residues regarded as unappetising in Norway and the west are considered delicacies in other countries and cultures. We therefore see a big unexploited potential for Norwegian whitefish, which are a limited and valuable resource. Our vision is to develop more food from existing wild and farmed supplies of these species, and our business model will help to improve resource utilisation, reduce food waste and increase output of nutritious seafood. This is in line with several of the UN’s sustainable development goals.

Our head office is in Ålesund, and we have two owners in Norway and one in Hong Kong. We have six employees with broad experience of sales, product development and research in the seafood business. Our company has its own R&D department.

Our principal activity has been processing and sale of dried cod swim bladders to China. We also have regular sales of fish meat from residues to European processors. Processed fish heads are sold to both European and Asian seafood markets. Together with strategic partners, we are working to develop health food products from residues. We produce pet food sold in Asia and the USA.

Our starting point is the recommendations and structure defined by the OECD for due diligence. The main aim of our first due diligence check has been to identify where in the value chain the biggest risk of negative impacts is to be found, and what type of risk is present. Four of our six employees have contributed to this work, including the CEO, chair, logistics coordinator and R&D manger, in order to ensure broad entrenchment internally.

The due diligence check covers our largest suppliers, which collectively account for 80 per cent of our total procurement. The sample encompasses all the areas where we have business contacts – south-east and central Asia plus Europe. Measures were prioritised on the basis of order size, which says something about the scale of possible negative impacts and about the geographical scope of these effects for assessing risk types and their seriousness.

Internationally

We have assessed risk among international suppliers on a geographical basis, and have used indicators for corruption, civil rights, expected years in school and percentage of children in primary school from the UN’s statistical database. The production stage of the value chain and certain countries where production occurs were assessed here to be more exposed to risk than others.

Code of conduct and supplier agreements

During the due diligence check, requirements were identified for improved supplier agreements and updated internal and external codes of conduct. A new policy and supplier agreement between us and our business partners has therefore been established. Remediation of possible damage/negative impacts is part of our code of conduct.

Dialogue and complaints procedures

We have established a goal that our code of conduct will be accessible to everyone working at factories utilised in our production by the end of 2023. The code must be accessible and visible in the local language.

Dialogue with suppliers is conducted today via e-mail, phone and physical/virtual meetings. We will consider more extensive whistleblowing channels in consultation with suppliers.

Audits

Several audits were conducted at a subcontractor in Vietnam during June 2023. Their aim was to identify negative impacts/conditions, including child labour and illegal overtime, which would have required further measures by us. An agreed audit (daytime) was conducted, plus two unannounced visits (evening) to assess whether children were present, and to what extent the factory operated outside normal working hours. This was not the case at the relevant times.

Although no conditions with negative consequences or breaches of human rights or our code of conduct were identified during the risk assessment or audits, we recognise that a risk nevertheless exists for negative conditions at suppliers. We will therefore work continually to ensure a responsible supplier chain.