AFT Holdings, Inc., a New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A.-based diversified holding company focused on shelf-stable food products, has announced the suspension of the operations of its subsidiary, All About Healthy Foods Holdings (AAHFH).
Additionally, the company has announced the termination of its agreement with FCF Fisheries for co-management of a tuna processing facility in Wewak, Papua New Guinea.
AAHFH was based in San Diego, California, U.S.A., and had an estimated 15 employees, according to AFT Holdings CEO and Managing Director J. Douglas Hines. Those employees have been laid off or furloughed, Hines said. AAHFH’s partner, Freedom Foods Group LTD Australia, has shifted focus from exports to the domestic market “until the situation stabilizes,” citing “the events associated with the COVID-19 pandemic” having caused “an overwhelming challenge for the U.S. supply chain from Australia.”
“As a result, AAHFH will reallocate some Freedom Foods-affiliated positions, while others will be furloughed indefinitely,” Hines said.
AFT Holdings will continue to source salmon, sardines, and herring for Paramount and Brunswick in Australia and New Zealand, “only from resources that are sustainable and meet requirements for human dignity,” he said.
AFT Holdings previously announced its withdraw of direct investment in the U.S.-flagged fleet of ocean-going tuna seiners this year, citing punitive government regulations.
AAHFH’s management agreement with FCF/South Seas Tuna Corp. in Wewak, Papua New Guinea, which consisted of the provision of technical services, has been nullified, Hines said.
“I am proud of the work that was done over time, including by the U.S. distant-water fleet, which meets all the standards and still do,” he said. “Those guys are always under pressure, but meet the bar.”
Hines said the decision was made as a direct result of sustainability and human rights concerns raised by a recent Greenpeace report alleging human rights abuses on-board FCF vessels. He said AAHFH “cannot reengage with FCF until the outlined issues are addressed and corrected.”
“Our concern with the Greenpeace report allegations were escalated recently with FCF’s acquisition of Bumble Bee and Cloverleaf brands,” Hines said. “Hopefully under new foreign leadership, along with the other tuna companies from Korea and Thailand, which now control 100 percent of the major U.S. branded tuna industry, they will finally take real steps to commit to sustainable resourcing, eradicating IUU supply, eliminating human trafficking, and providing dolphin-safe clarity.”
AFT will continue to operate Atlantic Natural Foods, which produces vegan seafood alternative products, including the Loma Linda brand of TUNO products for sale in the U.S., United Kingdom, and Thailand. According to Hines, AFT Holdings’ subsidiaries such as Atlantic Natural Foods are engaged in creating plant-based foods that are held to a higher standard.
“It’s not about feeling good,” Hines said. “It’s about doing good.”
