Along with Idilia Foods’ Nocilla chocolate hazelnut spread and Shezan International’s Shezan juices, the Kolson pasta products of Lotte Kolson were manufactured at the Hashem Foods factory where a tragic fire killed dozens of workers on 8 July and dozens more suffered serious injuries.
Despite the systematic exploitation of child labour at Hashem Foods factory for a number of years and multiple violations of labour laws and fire safety regulations, Lotte Kolson failed to conduct any form of auditing or due diligence that would reveal these abuses. In fact both Kolson in Pakistan and Lotte in Korea have a history of aggressive trade union rights violations and preventing workers from forming unions. The abusive conditions at Hashem Foods certainly fit their business model.
Lotte Kolson is a Pakistan-based food company wholly owned by Lotte Corporation headquartered in Korea. Lotte acquired Kolson in 2010 and renamed it Lotte Kolson.