On October 20, 2023, Måsøval suspected “irregularities” in conditions at Pure Norwegian Seafood (PNS), which previous inspections by the authorities had not discovered. As of June 2021, Måsøval is the majority shareholder of PNS, with 65 percent of the company’s shares.

An investigation by EY shows that PNS – to which Måsøval supplies fish – “has for several years allowed certain customers to purchase frozen salmon which, according to Norwegian regulations, is not fit for human consumption”.

According to the investigation report, rotten fish accounted for just under 1 percent of the total fish volume and about 0.5 percent of PNS’s revenue over the past three years. “As a supplier to PNS, Måsøval has not made any profits or shared any other benefits related to these activities within PNS,” it says.

According to Måsøval, what happened was that according to Norwegian regulations, the fish sold should have been destroyed or ensiled, or improperly processed before export. It was discontinued in October and no health consequences were reported for people who ate the fish.

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority was only informed at the beginning of November. The investigation report was submitted to the supervisory authority.

Måsøval writes that the conditions will only have a marginal financial effect for them and that possible public sanctions will only affect PNS.

Måsøval writes that “measures were immediately taken through instructions from the board to completely stop the irregular activity, the cold storage was sealed and the affected products recalled”, after they became suspicious PNS practices.