“Corporate Accountability Lab sues Aqua Star for false advertising of its “responsibly sourced” shrimp”, 15 March 2026

On March 11, 2026, Corporate Accountability Lab and Toxin Free USA filed a lawsuit against seafood giant Aqua Star under Washington, D.C.’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA), alleging that the company falsely advertises its farmed shrimp products as “responsibly sourced” and “sustainably sourced.” According to the complaint, Aqua Star sources shrimp from facilities linked to exploitative labor conditions and environmentally destructive practices that have been widely documented in the Indian shrimp industry. The lawsuit alleges that these practices conflict with the Aqua Star’s marketing claims that its shrimp are responsibly and sustainably produced.  

The complaint also challenges Aqua Star’s marketing of its shrimp as “pure.” As stated in the lawsuit, Aqua Star shrimp products have been recalled multiple times due to potential contamination with Cesium-137, a man-made radioactive isotope…

Aqua Star sells its shrimp throughout the United States and Washington, D.C., including at Target, Giant, Balducci’s, Safeway, Save A Lot, Harris Teeter, and Kroger…

In March 2024, CAL released a groundbreaking report, Hidden Harvest: Human Rights and Environmental Abuses in India’s Shrimp Industry, documenting abusive labor and environmental practices in the Indian shrimp sector…

CAL’s investigation revealed that shrimp aquaculture workers overwhelmingly come from vulnerable backgrounds, primarily from lower castes and fisher communities, and many are workers from other Indian states. Migrant workers, especially, are at a high risk of forced labor…