Laksefalskneri: Nye funn om etikett-svindel i norsk eksport

A Norwegian investigation has revealed apparent label forgery involving a Bergen-based company, North Tandem, and salmon products from Nordlaks and Alsvåg Lakseslakteri. The scope of the alleged fraud may be larger than previously thought, according to new findings.

“Clearly a False Label”

Video footage from a dissatisfied customer shows frozen salmon with significant wounds and damage to its skin. The camera pans to boxes stacked next to the fish, one of which is clearly labeled with a label belonging to Slakteriet AS, a well-established exporter of fresh and frozen salmon in Florø.

Slakteriet AS’s managing director, Kristin Bergstøl Hansen, was shown the label. She called it “clearly a false label” and “a gross misuse” of their approval number, SF222.

“This is a very upsetting situation for us,” Hansen said.

The approval number SF222 is issued by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and is required to export seafood to other countries. The label affixed to the salmon boxes confirms where the fish was packaged and is crucial for traceability and food safety.

The customer in Kazakhstan, who filmed the footage, received two audio messages from North Tandem’s managing director. In those messages, she stated the customer should not have resold the salmon at the price of ordinary salmon, given its demonstrably lower quality.

“…you should have followed up on the fish and priced it accordingly…,” the managing director said in one of the audio messages.

In a statement to NRK, through her attorney Torbjørn Sognefest at Elden Advokatfirma, North Tandem’s managing director said it is impossible to verify that the fish in the video is actually from North Tandem, or that the company was involved in creating the label shown.

The managing director also argued that the video is irrelevant, as there is no consistency between the fish shown and the label displayed.

Considering a Police Report

Public export data shows North Tandem used the approval number SF222 on multiple occasions when selling frozen salmon to Kazakhstan.

In a message exchange from September 22, 2023, North Tandem’s managing director wrote that a batch of large salmon weighing over 10 kg would receive new labels:

“On its way to Kazakhstan, it will become salmon from Slakteriet or Nordlaks.”

“N168” is not an approved packing number in Norway. In a subsequent message, the managing director referred to M168, which is the packing number for Pure Norwegian Seafood in Averøy.

Lars Øksenvåg, managing director of Pure Norwegian Seafood, told NRK that his company did not sell salmon to North Tandem during that period. However, the factory may have processed or frozen fish for companies that later sold it to North Tandem, according to Øksenvåg.

“We take this very seriously if it turns out that our labels may have been replaced on their way to market.”

Slakteriet AS and its CEO, Kristin Bergstøl Hansen, are now considering filing a police report against North Tandem.

“We take this very seriously and are now considering filing a report against the actor.”

North Tandem’s managing director does not directly address the specific messages presented in this article, but states generally that the material from Kazakhstan does not provide an accurate picture of reality.

“North Tandem believes that many of the claims are directly incorrect or based on fabricated, isolated, or misleading information that NRK’s sources have presented.”

Labels from Kråkøy, Breivoll and Salten

To export salmon to Kazakhstan, you need approval from the authorities in that country. The North Tandem factory did not have this approval in 2023 and parts of 2024. While waiting for its own approval, messages obtained by NRK show that North Tandem used the approval numbers of several other companies.

In addition to Slakteriet, Nordlaks and Alsvåg, the following were mentioned:

• Kråkøy Slakteri (ST106)
• Breivoll Marine (T-436)
• Salten N950 (N950)

On April 2, 2024, North Tandem’s managing director was still awaiting approval for its own factory. In a message, she wrote that the fish would come from other factories:

She then sent a price list, documenting that the salmon was offered to the customer under several different approval numbers.

North Tandem’s managing director writes that she will not comment on individual transactions or customer information in this case, due to confidentiality and obligations to its partners.

Companies Deny Involvement

Among the factories mentioned is Kråkøy Slakteri, a family-owned business in Åfjord municipality, northwest of Trondheim.

NRK has seen health certificates from North Tandem related to Kråkøy Slakteri dated April 8, 2024. We have also seen an invoice dated April 10, 2024, where Kråkøy Slakteri’s approval number is listed.

Managing Director Roger Sørgård of Kråkøy Slakteri denies that North Tandem could have used their facilities – and believes they have been the victim of fraud.

“Regarding the shipment in question, we have no indication that this concerns salmon that was frozen at our facility. We have not registered production for the aforementioned exporter in the relevant period, and find no corresponding volumes in our systems,” Sørgård said.

Breivoll Marine, a salmon processing plant located outside Harstad, is also puzzled as to how their approval number could have ended up on the list.

“We have not sold salmon to – or had any form of contact with – North Tandem. Until we received an email from you, we had no suspicion that our approval number had been used in this context,” said Managing Director Frank-Halvar Solvang to NRK.

The same applies to the salmon processing plant Salten 950, southwest of Bodø.

“Salten N950 has not been in contact with or had North Tandem as a customer. None of our subsidiaries have done business with them,” said Marketing and Communications Manager John-Christian Andreassen.

North Tandem writes to NRK that it cannot disclose customer data or other business-sensitive material.

The allegations raise concerns about the integrity of seafood labeling and traceability, and the potential for fraudulent practices within the export supply chain.

Sekkingstad Sold Fish to North Tandem

Salmon from the processing company Sekkingstad, located on Sotra outside Bergen, also appears in North Tandem’s exports to Kazakhstan in 2023.

In a message exchange that NRK has obtained from August 2023, North Tandem offered salmon with wounds and damage from Sekkingstad to the customer in Kazakhstan.

Sekkingstad’s Sales Director Jannicke Sekkingstad Johansson confirms that the company sold salmon to North Tandem for a period.

“We do not normally comment on details of our customer relationships, but are making an exception here due to the nature of the case,” Johansson said, and continued:

“We previously, until 2023, sold salmon to North Tandem. But not after that. Beyond that, I do not want to comment further.”

Sekkingstad previously stated to niche publication iLaks that they have purchased production fish from Mowi and other suppliers for their own processing and resale.

Johansson emphasized to NRK that Sekkingstad only buys production fish when they have limited access to their own factory. In addition, Sekkingstad only resold when its own machines could not handle the size of the damaged salmon.

The practice of resale was temporarily stopped when production fish from Mowi and Sekkingstad were resold to a customer in Europe without being corrected.

“After this was discovered, the practice was changed and we created stricter requirements for customers. We also purchased special equipment to handle the largest fish,” Johansson told NRK.

North Tandem Responds

North Tandem emphasizes that its current operations are conducted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and that the company is loyal to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and other authorities.

NRK has asked several questions that North Tandem has not answered directly, including:

• What is the company’s explanation for the labels that have surfaced with their former customer in Kazakhstan?
• What is the company’s comment on the messages showing the managing director discussing relabeling?

In a general comment, North Tandem states that NRK’s information comes from actors with their own interests in the case.

“North Tandem believes that it is correct that questions of this nature are handled by the authorities, where both parties have access to the same factual basis and where fundamental legal safeguards are ensured,” the company writes.