Chlorinated chicken “on the way” says Friends of the Earth

Food safety campaigners have warned that chlorinated chicken may be on sale in the EU even before any free trade deal is signed with the US.

The EU is currently engaged in wide-ranging negotiations with the US, known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), seeking to open up all manner of markets for the two blocs.

For poultrymeat, one of the sticking points has been the issue of chlorinated chicken, with US processors routinely washing chicken carcases in a lightly chlorinated solution. The practice is currently banned in the EU, as are imports of poultrymeat that have been treated this way.

See also: How US free-trade negotiations threaten UK poultry

But, according to campaign group Friends of the Earth, the EU Commission is seeking to allow the use of disinfectants anyway.

“Not only has the EU Commission tried previously to approve for sale so-called ‘chlorinated chicken’ and other disinfected meat, but it is currently processing an application to allow imports of chickens rinsed in peroxyacetic acid, a disinfectant commonly used in factory farms in the US,” it said in a statement.

Food campaigner at Friends of the Earth, Mute Schimpf, said the issue was debated at a meeting of the so-called Civil Dialogue Group on poultry and eggs, with stakeholders in Brussels this week.

A presentation by commission health experts looked at the use of peroxyacetic acid on poultry carcases. A study by the European Food Safety Authority, published last year, had revealed no toxicity concerns and limited environmental concerns.

In terms of efficacy, the product had performed well in reducing things like salmonella, campylobacter and E coli, and there were no concerns about it having any impact on antibiotic resistance.

The presentation concluded by saying that some treatment methods were more effective than others and called for further studies.

According to Ms Schimpf, the EU officials also indicated that this antimicrobial chemical rinse may be approved later this year. She accused the commission of “caving in to US trade interests” and lowering food safety standards.

But a commission spokesman said that, while internal discussions in Brussels were ongoing, “there is no timeline yet as to whether it will or will not be accepted”.

British Poultry Council chief executive Andrew Large said the UK’s focus was on keeping bacteria out of chicken throughout the food chain. “Chemical treatments should never be used as a substituute for good hygeine practice,” he said.

Poultry producers remained to be convinced that the use of peroxyacetic acid was necessary or was in the best interests of consumers.