Acid-washed chicken could be on the menu in UK-US trade deal
Environment secretary George Eustice has refused to rule out the prospect of allowing imports of acid washed chicken under a UK-US trade deal.
Food standards post-Brexit has been an ongoing issue in Westminster, with opposition parties claiming the Tories are prepared to allow a diversion from the EU’s stringent rules to strike a trade deal with the US and other countries.
Some US manufacturers are known to wash their chicken in chlorine, while some use hormones in cattle farming – both illegal under EU law.
However, Eustice told the BBC today that the more common practice in the US for chicken now was “lactic acid washing”.
He said the government had “no plans” to change food safety laws, but would not rule out accepting US food standards in a trade deal.
It comes after City A.M. exclusively revealed on Thursday that Downing Street was considering taking an independent stance on food safety at an upcoming World Trade Organisation meeting.
“The truth is that it is already illegal in this country to sell chlorine washed chicken or indeed hormone beef – that is in our legislation,” Eustice said. “[US farmers] now use other disinfectants such as lactic acid.
“There is room for a sensible discussion. We also use lactic acid on some species, notably beef.”
The difference between the US and EU food standards comes down to burden of proof.
In the EU, lawmakers require there be scientific evidence that a practice is safe before it is made legal. In the US, there has to be incontrovertible scientific proof that a practice is unsafe for it to be banned.
Eustice said today that the government “will not take risks” with food standards.
Boris Johnson has in the past said that future UK food safety laws will be “governed by by science and not mumbo jumbo”.