Hannaford Supermarkets is reviewing its dairy supply chain for possible worker and human rights violations following years of criticism by activists who say the company’s milk is partially sourced from farms with substandard working conditions.

The review, part of a multiyear plan the grocer’s parent unveiled in 2020, began the first week of April, said George Parmenter, a former Hannaford employee who is currently consulting for the company. A third-party auditor, Enact, is overseeing the investigation, he said…

Hannaford’s review began just days before a farm worker advocacy group filed a human rights complaint against its parent company, Ahold Delhaize, on April 7.

Organizers with Migrant Justice, a Vermont-based farmers’ rights group, attended the parent company’s annual shareholder meeting in the Netherlands, where they announced that Migrant Justice had filed a complaint with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, a Paris-based intergovernmental group founded in 1961…

Hannaford credited Migrant Justice with raising the issue of workers’ rights.

“Frankly, in retrospect, we appreciate the fact that Migrant Justice raised this issue for us, and that it became an opportunity to shine a light on the industry and our supply chain, so that we can learn what may or may not be happening,” spokesperson Ericka Dodge said in an interview. ..