Following a warning from foodwatch: Lidl and Tinema Stop Greenwashing Regarding Salmon
Labels Without Substance – Why ASC and GGN Don't Provide Consumers with a Real Guarantee of Sustainable Salmon Farming
A victory for foodwatch: Lidl and Tinema GmbH will no longer advertise salmon with misleading sustainability claims. The consumer organization had previously issued a warning to the companies. Specifically, this applies to products containing Norwegian salmon from the Nautica and “Meine Lieblinge” brands, which are certified with the ASC and GGN seals, respectively. foodwatch had criticized the fact that consumers cannot verify the green advertising claims on the products. Furthermore, the labels obscured the often poor conditions at the fish farms.
“It’s an important sign that Lidl and Tinema are responding to foodwatch’s criticism and removing the misleading sustainability claims from the packaging,” said Annemarie Botzki of foodwatch. “But the fundamental problem remains: A plethora of labels leads us to believe that everything is fine in the salmon farming industry. Consumers cannot trust either the ASC or the GGN label to ensure that the animals were treated well. Even farms where salmon die in large numbers do not automatically lose their certification. Manufacturers and retailers must not blindly rely on labels. The certifying bodies must guarantee that where a sustainability label is displayed, the product actually contains sustainable salmon.”
Manufacturer Tinema has committed to removing the ASC label as well as the disputed advertising claims “produced in an environmentally friendly manner and in accordance with social standards” and “from responsible fish farming” from the packaging of several “Meine Lieblinge” brand salmon products by the end of October. According to its own figures, the retail company—which specializes in smoked fish—sells 51 million packages annually to German retailers. The “Meine Lieblinge” brand is carried by Rewe, among others.
Lidl has also taken action: The company has removed the advertising claim “produced responsibly” from the packaging of its Nautica salmon. In addition, Lidl has removed the label reading “Where does our fish come from? Scan the QR code.” foodwatch had criticized that this gave consumers the impression they could fully trace the fish’s origin. In reality, however, the product could only be traced back to the retailer on the tracking page—not all the way to the fish farm. According to Lidl, the redesigned packaging has been on sale since July.
Industrial salmon farming has been criticized for years due to high stocking densities, pest infestations, and the strain it places on surrounding ecosystems. According to the Norwegian Veterinary Institute, 98 million salmon died in Norwegian fish farms in 2025 before they could be processed. Even in ASC-certified fish farms, there have been repeated incidents of abuse in the past, such as mass deaths of salmon. Therefore, from foodwatch’s perspective, the industry cannot claim to engage in particularly “environmentally sustainable” or “responsible” production.
According to the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), particularly strict requirements apply to environmental advertising. In 2024, the BGH clarified that companies must clearly explain the meaning of environmental terms used in environmental advertising. foodwatch assessed the disputed advertisement as a violation of the Unfair Competition Act (UWG). Starting in late September, greenwashing will be more strictly regulated due to changes in competition and consumer law. From then on, for example, general environmental claims will only be permitted if they include a clear specification and justification.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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