Tesco rules out chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef

Retail giant Tesco has ruled out stocking chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef after a giant chicken and a fake Tesco delivery van appeared outside a major London store.

Campaign group 38 Degrees staged the stunt on Tuesday 17 February, parking a fake Tesco delivery van beside a giant chicken, raising concerns over the use of such products.

The group said it has repeatedly emailed Tesco seeking a commitment that the supermarket will never sell such products, even if a future UK-US trade deal permits them, but had not received a clear assurance.

See also: US seeks food standards change as price for £31bn tech deal

Veronica Hawking, campaigns director at 38 Degrees, said: “British shoppers simply won’t stand for lower food standards.”

She added that 129,799 people have signed a petition calling on the UK’s major supermarkets to reject chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-treated beef:

“We’re here to tell Tesco it’s time they gave their customers the same iron-cast ‘never’ that many of their competitors have already provided – that they will never stock cheaper, lower-standard imports.”

‘No plans’

In response, a Tesco spokesman said: “We have no plans to allow the use of chlorinated chicken or hormone-fed beef in our own-brand products.

“Suppliers involved in producing these products must strictly adhere to our Tesco food standards and Tesco welfare standards, which clearly prohibit these practices.”

Tesco added that all its fresh chicken and beef comes from farms in the UK and Ireland.

“We’re proud to be British agriculture’s largest customer, supporting thousands of farmers all year round. More widely, we remain committed to sourcing from the UK whenever possible,” the spokesman said.

‘Insufficient safeguard’

However, 38 Degrees added that major competitors, including Waitrose, Aldi, Co-op, and Asda, have already issued guarantees to their customers, while some retailers have only stated they have “no plans” to stock such items.

The organisation warned that “no plans” is an insufficient safeguard as pressure mounts for a US trade deal that “could sacrifice British food quality”.