Scandal-hit and charged company: - We are cooperating with the police to find a responsible party

The listeria scandal continues to burden the salmon producer Polar Salmon Hjerting Laks A/S in Esbjerg.

The company has connections to Greenland, as it is part of Polar Seafood Denmark, which is partly owned by Polar Seafood Greenland.

On Wednesday, February 11, the Danish trade media Food Supply reported that the South and South Jutland Police have charged two people and the company Polar Salmon in connection with the investigation into the listeria case at the company.

This means that one of Denmark's largest producers of smoked salmon and halibut remains in the eye of the storm.

Sermitsiaq has asked Polar Salmon's chairman, Henrik Leth, who is CEO of Polar Seafood Denmark A/S, which owns Polar Salmon 100 percent, to comment on the case.

What is your comment on the police reports?

- It is positive that progress is being made in the work of finding a responsible party.

- In relation to the indictment of Polar Salmon Hjerting Laks, the company is of course cooperating fully with the police to get to the bottom of the critical conditions from 2023-24, which the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration noted in January 2025, Henrik Leth writes in an email to Sermitsiaq.

Former director has been charged

One of the two charged in the police investigation of the listeria case is Polar Salmon's former director and co-owner, Christoph Kjærgaard. He has confirmed this to Jydske Vestkysten.

Can you confirm that none of the current members of the board, management or management of Polar Salmon Hjerting Laks have been charged by the police?

- No current members of the board, management or management of Polar Salmon Hjerting Laks have been charged by the police, says Henrik Leth.

How seriously do you view the case?

- It is a very serious matter. Therefore, Polar Salmon Hjerting Laks has - since the beginning of the case - consulted with leading industry experts, and everyone has worked very hard to lift the company.

- Many millions of kroner have been invested in improving the company's equipment, processes and in upskilling employees, Henrik Leth tells Sermitsiaq.

Four dead

According to Food Supply, listeria bacteria from the company Polar Salmon's factory have been linked to at least 27 cases of illness and four deaths over several years. This was confirmed by the Statens Serum Institut to Jydske Vestkysten in early 2025.

At that time, Polar Salmon's chairman Henrik Leth regretted this to Jydske Vestkysten.

He said that they had informed the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration about a withdrawn batch, but had forgotten about another one because it was blocked by a customer.

After the South and South Jutland Police have now completed their investigation of the case, it will be passed on to the prosecution.

The prosecution will conduct a legal assessment of whether charges should be brought against the two accused persons and the company. If charges are brought, the case will proceed through the courts.

The police have not been able to give a time frame for when they expect the investigation to be completed.

Listeria is a food-borne bacterium that can grow even at low temperatures in a refrigerator. The bacterium can be fatal for particularly vulnerable people and has a mortality rate of approximately 25 percent.

Has incurred significant costs

A police report can have significant consequences for a company, as it can put the company under pressure.

Sermitsiaq has asked the chairman of the board of Polar Salmon further questions in the wake of the police charges:

What financial consequences has the long-running listeria case had for Polar Salmon Hjerting Laks and the parent company Polar Seafood Denmark?

We wrote in April last year that both COOP and Rema1000 had stopped cooperation with Polar Salmon. What does this mean for Polar Salmon, but also for Polar Seafood Denmark. How many customers has Polar Salmon lost since the case began?

- We would like to comment on the police report and the seriousness of the case, but we do not want to comment on the company's customer relations and finances.

- In this connection, I can inform you that the annual accounts for 2025 are being prepared, and this will reflect the large costs we have incurred, Henrik Leth replies.

The sausage scandal

In 2024, the food company Jørn A. Rullepølser A/S in Hedehusene near Roskilde was closed in connection with what has been called the “sausage scandal” in the media and all products were withdrawn from the market.

The background was that the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration discovered listeria bacteria in a batch of lamb sausage rolls from the factory. A bacteria that had most likely infected 20 people and cost 12 of them their lives.

In light of the sausage scandal, Sermitsiaq has asked Henrik Leth:

Could the Polar Salmon case result in you closing Polar Salmon, i.e. Polar Seafood Denmark's subsidiary being dealt the death blow?

But the chairman of the board does not answer that question in the email to Sermitsiaq.

The salmon company Polar Salmon Hjerting Laks A/S is, as mentioned, 100 percent owned by Polar Seafood Denmark. This company is owned fifty-fifty by the Greenlandic company Polar Seafood Greenland A/S and the Danish company S-13 Holding Aps. S-13 is owned by the Icelandic company Brim hf.

The owners of Polar Seafood Greenland are the company's two CEOs, Miki Brøns and Bent Salling, plus the group's press officer, Laila Salling.

Henrik Leth, who was chairman of Polar Seafood Greenland for many years, has been CEO of Polar Seafood Denmark for the past almost three years. He became chairman of Polar Salmon Hjerting Laks in the fall of 2024.