Authorities in the Netherlands have released without charge the financial director of Prime Champ, the main supplier of mushrooms to UK retailer Asda, following his arrest last week on suspicion of being involved in the alleged exploitation of Polish migrant workers.
As reported in the Fresh Produce Journal, police also released two Polish women – both of whom occupy senior positions at the Venlo-based company’s production facilities, who were arrested at the same time. The investigation against Prime Champ, however, is set to continue.
The fresh produce giant, which claims to produce 71,000kg of fresh mushrooms every day, said it would cooperate fully with Dutch police.
A company statement said: “The three Dutch employees have been released last Friday `10 August` by the Dutch authorities with no charges against them. The authorities will continue their investigation in the upcoming weeks with the full cooperation of Prime Champ.
“During last week’s investigation no evidence was found to charge Prime Champ with breaking employment law.”
The arrests, made following searches at four of the company’s production sites by inspectors from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, were part of an investigation that had been ongoing “for a serious amount of time”, a leading player in the Dutch fresh produce business told the FPJ.
In a statement published last week, the ministry had said it suspected the mushroom farm of “exploiting Polish workers” and, according to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, it is appealing the decision to release the three staff.
“The company employs several hundred pickers, mainly Polish women,” the ministry said. “The suspicion is that these Polish workers as a matter of course are underpaid, work very long days and receive virtually no days off. In addition, they must give back part of their wages for accommodation, meals and insurance.”
The arrests are a potential embarrassment for Prime Champ’s main financial backer Rabobank, which sponsors the Dutch government’s Fair Produce certification scheme – legislation that protects the rights and requirements of labour workers.
“These arrests have opened a can of worms that won’t go away in a hurry,” the source told FPJ.
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