for Lidl, “human rights violations, such as forced labor, are intolerable” – Libération

After the BBC's revelation about tomato purees containing fruits harvested by Uyghurs, then our test in several other brands, Lidl assured us that it no longer uses Chinese tomatoes in the products that the brand sells.

In its investigation into tomato purees sold in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, and which allegedly contain tomatoes picked by Uyghurs, the BBC mentions the particular case of Lidl. The German brand admits to having used, “for a short time”, tomatoes from China and sold across the Rhine last year “due to supply issues.” These tomatoes were present “in another version of its Baresa Tomatenmark – manufactured by the Italian supplier Giaguaro”, specifies the BBC. Giaguaro, writes British Public Radio, then said that all its suppliers respect workers' rights and that it currently does not use Chinese tomatoes in Lidl products. “The BBC understands the tomatoes were supplied by Xinjiang-based company Cofco Tunhe, which the US sanctioned in December last year for forced labor. In 2021, one of the Petti Group's factories was raided by Italian military police on suspicion of fraud – the Italian press reported that Chinese and other foreign tomatoes were present.