UK looked at ways to ‘open doors’ to US chlorinated chicken, FoI request shows
Summary
British officials received briefings on possibly allowing chicken washed with chemicals, like chlorine, from the US into the UK. This happened during trade talks with the US, despite public statements that the UK had no plans to change food safety rules on this matter.Key Facts
- UK officials were briefed on allowing chemical-washed chicken, including chlorine-treated chicken, before a meeting with the US embassy.
- The UK Food Standards Agency reviewed US studies on washing chicken with bacteriophages and chlorine dioxide to kill bacteria.
- The US permits chlorine washes to remove harmful bacteria on chicken, but the EU banned this practice in 1997 due to safety and animal welfare concerns.
- US officials, including the agriculture secretary and a White House adviser, pushed for the UK to accept all US meat products, criticizing UK sanitary rules as unfair barriers.
- Documents show that UK rules allow new substances like chlorine for chicken only after a strict risk analysis process.
- The Food Standards Agency studied the effectiveness of chemical treatments against campylobacter bacteria, with reports expected to be published soon.
- Campaign group 38 Degrees raised concerns that the UK government might quietly change food safety standards despite public denials.
- Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has been asked to comment but no statement was included in the article.
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