this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2025
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cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/26864906

Britain must allow US chlorine-washed chicken into UK markets if it wants relief from sweeping tariffs, Donald Trump has indicated.

It comes after the UK failed to avoid tariffs imposed on the global economy, with the US president slapping a 10 per cent levies on all British exports to the United States.

...

In a statement published alongside the tariff announcement, the White House said: “The UK maintains non-science-based standards that severely restrict US exports of safe, high-quality beef and poultry products.”

It suggested that Britain’s ban on chlorinated chicken was among a range of “non-tariff barriers” that limit the US’s ability to trade.

The UK has long ruled out allowing imports of chlorine-washed chicken from the US due to health concerns, with Downing Street on Thursday reiterating its manifesto commitment to high food standards.

Asked whether the UK could allow imports of chlorine washed chicken in order to appease the US, the prime minister’s officials spokesperson said: “Our position on that is unchanged. You’ve got the manifesto commitment on food standards, which obviously remains.”

...

The last major polling done on the issue, conducted in 2020, revealed that 80 per cent of Britons are opposed to allowing imports to the UK, and the same proportion is also against allowing chicken products that have been farmed using hormones.

There is also growing pressure from the farming industry to rule out concessions on the issue, amid fears it could undercut British farmers and drive down food standards.

Nigel Farage admitted he would allow American chlorine-washed chicken to be sold in the UK as part of a free trade deal with the US.

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[–] umbraroze@slrpnk.net 17 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

"I'll drop the tariffs for EU if they accept American beer" -Trump, next week

(I don't have much against American beer. But you have to understand that this joke absolutely had to be made. There was no other possible outcome.)

[–] nilclass@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

For now it's a "joke", next week it'll be recorded history

[–] skisnow@lemmy.ca 22 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Or, here's a crazy idea, the US could start meeting the basic safety and animal welfare standards that the entirety of Europe long ago decided was the basic minimum required for something to be suitable for human consumption.

[–] RymrgandsDaughter@lemmy.world 4 points 8 hours ago

Then how could they poison everyone as cheaply as possible?

[–] HexesofVexes@lemmy.world 11 points 15 hours ago

Or, and here me out here, the UK and EU arrange the most passive aggressive reconciliation ever by removing trade tariffs from one another, then slap a huge tax on any assets owned by the ruler of a foreign nation in their territory.

[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 5 points 13 hours ago

Chlorinated chicken dipped in swimming pool water

[–] ReiRose@lemmy.world 17 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

There's no way that the uk is going to be ok with this. It's gross and not how the world works. Stop it America

[–] oo1@lemmings.world 3 points 12 hours ago

Don't be so sure, did you see the quote fom next UK prime minister.

A total cunt admitted he would allow American chlorine-washed chicken to be sold in the UK as part of a free trade deal with the US.

[–] CileTheSane@lemmy.ca 55 points 1 day ago (4 children)

The UK maintains non-science-based standards

Maybe look at who is in charge of your health department before your start complaining about "non-science-based standards"

[–] HawlSera@lemm.ee 8 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

They only say "Science-Based" as a dogwhistle to mean "Ignoring what science says about transpeople and substituting my own evidence based on ignorance and vibes."

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[–] SleepyBear@lemmy.world 19 points 1 day ago (11 children)

Wait....does that mean Americans are currently consuming chicken thats been washed in chlorine?! How the FUCK is that up to scientific and health standards??

[–] letsgo@lemm.ee 4 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

It's up to the American standards, for what that's worth. The chlorine washing makes the meat safe, because the process results in unsafe meat, causing danger to workers (and [speculation]possibly undue suffering for the birds). The EU processes result in meat that doesn't need to be chlorine washed because the process ensures it is safe.

So the problem with chlorine washing is not in the end product but in the process that creates it. It's the EU concern for worker safety that makes chlorine washed chicken problematic.

I'm not defending the USA here and I oppose imports of chlorinated chicken. Just want to ensure the ire is projected in the appropriate direction. If God forbid that idiot Farage gets some power and we end up with chlorinated chicken then it should be clearly labelled as such so that the British consumer can make an informed FUCK OFF.

The UK can't allow the import of chlorinated chicken because then that would shut down our chicken trading, at least, and probably a lot more, with the EU, which is a bigger market than the American one, by about 30%. Fart's team obviously knows this.

[–] FiskFisk33@startrek.website 2 points 12 hours ago

It's up to the American standards, for what that's worth.

Honestly, not much.

[–] wispy_jsp@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Honestly, given all the cramped factory farms and wide spread disease in poultry factories, it's probably good we chlorine them up. Not to say I'd expect another country with better production methods to want to buy our shitty meat though

[–] davidagain@lemmy.world 4 points 16 hours ago

The chlorine only sanitises the outside and any needle that passes through it.

[–] treadful@lemmy.zip 6 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Most of our tap water has a touch of chlorine to kill off microorganisms. No need to jerk that knee.

[–] davidagain@lemmy.world 10 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (1 children)

The difference is that the chlorine disperses throughout the water and genuinely kills the bacteria, whereas the chlorine wash for chicken only sanitises the surface of the diseased chicken's skin and any needle pushed through it. It does nothing to the meat and merely hides bacteria from detection.

America doesn't have animal welfare rules anything like like the UK and EU have, and their chickens are usually kept in cramped conditions and bathe in their own filth all day long. It's not very uncommon for their bellies to be actually rotting.

Chlorine washes the evidence away.

[–] treadful@lemmy.zip 1 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Criticism of the process is fair, but also an emotional knee jerk reaction over the use of chlorine is still unwarranted.

[–] davidagain@lemmy.world 1 points 9 hours ago

It's not the chlorine, for goodness sake, it's the disease it hides. Are you not listening? Chlorine wash after death is the only sanitary thing that ever happened to these poor mistreated disease-ridden lame birds. We don't accept chlorine washed chicken because there's no easy way to test whether it's diseased meat or healthy meat.

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[–] not_woody_shaw@lemmy.world 29 points 1 day ago

Shut the fuck up Donny, you're out of your element.

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 32 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Why do they want us to eat their chlorinated chicken so badly? Sounds like an evil agenda coming along....

We have our own farmers anyway.

Nigel Farage admitted he would allow American chlorine-washed chicken to be sold in the UK as part of a free trade deal with the US.

So called "nationalist", support local farmers.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

So called “nationalist”, support local farmers.

Nothing more British than shutting down a local business to reap profit from outsourcing. Just ask Thatcher.

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[–] Ardycake@lemm.ee 16 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I wasn't born in the US but find myself living here. The food is awful. Cutting corners and padding some pockets, but listeria outbreaks on our food has become a weekly commonplace. Hundreds of recalls a month. The food is so treated its inedible. I cut almost everything out and buy from imported stores as much as possible. Even European brands often have an American version that is full of junk, so I have to read labels so carefully. I wish it wasn't this way. No one here wants this.

[–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yeah, there’s a phenomenon where stereotypically fat Americans move abroad, and suddenly start losing a ton of weight. Not because their eating habits consciously changed, but simply because the food that was readily available was suddenly so much healthier than when they were in America. Almost as if infrastructure has a huge impact on the public’s health.

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[–] NocturnalEngineer@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago

If I remember, Project 2025 also wanted to open up the NHS to "foreign competition" too.

It won't stop at just chlorinated chicken.

[–] x00z@lemmy.world 32 points 1 day ago

"Free market"

"Buy our chicken or you will lose your market here"

[–] fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 36 points 1 day ago

Nigel Farage admitted he would allow American chlorine-washed chicken

Annnnd there you have it.

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

Now with real bleach - certified Covid-free!

[–] 100_kg_90_de_belin@feddit.it 88 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Nigel Farage admitted he would allow American chlorine-washed chicken to be sold in the UK as part of a free trade deal with the US.

God, what a sniveling excuse for a politician.

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 10 points 1 day ago

Pretends to be a nationalist as well.

[–] samuelwankenobi@lemm.ee 27 points 1 day ago

Nigel Farage is a trump suck up who was literally paid off or bribed by Elon Musk I would just ignore everything he ever says

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 146 points 1 day ago (9 children)

A 2014 report by US non-profit Consumer Reports found that 97 per cent of 300 American chicken breasts tested contained harmful bacteria, including Salmonella, campylobacter and E.Coli.

Around half of the chicken breasts tested also contained at least one type of bacteria that was resistant to three or more antibiotics.

Meanwhile, if you ate a large amount of chlorinated chicken – the equivalent to 5 per cent of your body weight in one day –you could be exposed to harmful levels of the chemical compound known as chlorate,

Yeah, I'd suggest holding out on this one. The way US farms raise chickens is deplorable and leads to the spread of disease.

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[–] match@pawb.social 61 points 1 day ago (2 children)

generally kinda fucked up to think about raw meat being bulk shipped across oceans anyways

[–] reiterationstation@lemm.ee 27 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Oh boy if you think that’s fucked up: They take American chickens, send them to China to process, then ship them back to the USA to sell to us.

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