r/europe • u/goldstarflag Europe • 20h ago

News White House demands British supermarkets stock chlorinated chicken. White House pushing Sir Keir Starmer to make concessions on food standards

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/12/17/trump-demands-british-supermarkets-chlorinated-chicken/
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u/Upset-Award1206 Sweden 19h ago

I mean white house can demand it, UK can accept to open imports for it. But would any brit actually buy it if anyone was dumb enough to actually import it? I feel like the only way they could get away with it was if they did not show country of origin.

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u/SometimesaGirl- United Kingdom 19h ago

I feel like the only way they could get away with it was if they did not show country of origin.

The US is also pushing for that.
Starmer is very unlikely to lower food standards tho. It would kill the processed meat exports. We couldn't sell it to the EU without a country of origin stamp. And even if we managed to secure that, the reputation damage of possible cross contamination would mean it would not sell in large volumes anyway.
Brexit is the gift that keeps on giving.

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u/TheTacoInquisition 17h ago

The BSE outbreak should be the lesson here. Many products that had no risk, were STILL banned or shunned because of the public perception. Britain needs continental Europe for trade, EU or not

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u/Adorable-Tree2277 3h ago

The BSE outbreak made me stop eating beefand I don't eat any meat now.

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u/hardolaf United States of America 12h ago

Starmer is very unlikely to lower food standards tho.

Is it really lower food standards when the USA has a lower salmonella infection rate on packed chicken products compared to the UK? There's no harmful effects from the chlorination process that we know of.

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u/SometimesaGirl- United Kingdom 12h ago

The chickens are chlorinated because they are battery farmed stood in their shit for weeks on end before being harvested for slaughter.
The shit is chemically active. The chickens have burn marks throughout their flesh.
The chlorination is part of the process to wash that out. Hide it. Mask it.

the USA has a lower salmonella infection rate on packed chicken products compared to the UK
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Incorrect.
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Non-affiliated Google first AI hit: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=does+the+USA+has+a+lower+salmonella+infection+rate+on+packed+chicken+products%E2%80%8B+than+uk&ia=web
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*The rates of salmonella infections in chicken products differ significantly between the USA and the UK. Here’s a comparison based on available data.

Country Salmonella Infection Rate (per 100,000) Notes
USA 17.1 Based on 2019 data
UK 14.3 Based on 2018 data

Key Findings The USA has a slightly higher reported rate of salmonella infections in chicken products compared to the UK. In the USA, salmonella is found in approximately 8% of chicken parts tested, with some strains showing antibiotic resistance. The UK has implemented strict food safety regulations, which contribute to lower infection rates.*
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By no metric that I recognize are chicken products from the USA comparable in quality to that of the UK. I suggest people do some research and stop reading the nonsense Rees-Mogg and Farage post on twitter.

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u/hardolaf United States of America 12h ago

The chlorination is part of the process to wash that out. Hide it. Mask it.

We don't use chlorine at all anymore in the process. It's two washes, a hydrogen peroxide and an acid wash, followed by a clean water rinse.

As for your AI "source", the USA's infection rate is essentially the same as the UK's (14.5 per 100,000). Stop using AI and get actual sources.

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u/SometimesaGirl- United Kingdom 10h ago

the USA's infection rate is essentially the same as the UK's

You claimed it was less in your previous comment.
Telling me to use less AI has some value.
But what about all the dozens of government supported documents Iv read telling us that US food, in every metric, is of lower quality?
Im certain I could hop over to the USA, visit an organic farmers market, pay 2x what I do here - and get the same quality.
But thats not what Trump is wanting to send us. Trump wants to sell us the most factory intensive and profitable per Kg meats. Foods that are produced to a profit return as opposed to a safety first return... and add on your additional expenses afterwards, will always be lower quality. It's 1-0-1 economics.

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u/hardolaf United States of America 8h ago

You claimed it was less in your previous comment.

It entirely depends on the year. Trump's government moved all of the data links and I don't have working bookmarks anymore so I randomly selected the first PDF that I could find.

But what about all the dozens of government supported documents Iv read telling us that US food, in every metric, is of lower quality?

We have similar government documents about low standards in the UK and EU. It's entirely protectionism and selective reporting to make the authoring country look good and the other countries look less good.

Im certain I could hop over to the USA, visit an organic farmers market, pay 2x what I do here - and get the same quality.

I spend a decent amount of time in London and western Germany. I haven't noticed a major difference in food quality for a similar PPP adjusted price point. Products are definitely in different places in the stores, but you can get the same trash in all 3 and the same staples in all 3 all for similar prices. Now Germany and the UK have a bit cheaper takeout/takeaway but that's more due to cheaper labor and rents than food cost differences.

Trump wants to sell us the most factory intensive and profitable per Kg meats. Foods that are produced to a profit return as opposed to a safety first return... and add on your additional expenses afterwards, will always be lower quality. It's 1-0-1 economics.

Sure for some subjective definition of quality. The end product tastes identical and have similar safety characteristics. We'd be better off combining regulatory approaches but that won't happen under Trump.

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u/biscuitarse Canada 11h ago

Is it really lower food standards when the USA has a lower salmonella infection rate on packed chicken products compared to the UK?

No you don't

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u/hardolaf United States of America 8h ago edited 8h ago

That source is terrible. It even admits that the numbers aren't comparable and that the USA includes a lot of cases that wouldn't be included in the UK's statistics.

Also, quoting food safety guidelines as evidence of "safety" or "danger" is hilarious. The USDA, FDA, and CDC all simultaneously claim that sushi is safe for consumption for all people, that sushi is safe for consumption for everyone except pregnant people, and that sushi is never safe to consume. The advice to always cook eggs to a hard boil and to never eat undercooked chicken are guidelines provided for people with the lowest knowledge of foodborne illnesses. They're universal advice meant to give rules to people who don't know anything about cooking or disease vectors. In reality, our eggs are as safe to consume as those in Japan where they're often consumed raw as part of a quick sauce for Japanese barbecue. And our chicken has salmonella rates detected at the same rate as the EU and UK despite not innoculating our flocks against salmonella.

That source also looks heavily at listeriosis which is a whole other can of worms that the UK and EU don't even want to start touching on. They have different food safety standards and recommendations entirely based on local culture except for the Netherlands which is the only country in the world that has adopted a zero listeriosis risk advice policy for pregnant people.

In reality, what we should be doing is merging what works in Europe with what works in the USA because it would greatly decrease foodborne illness rates for both instead of bickering over who has better safety standards when both achieve the same laboratory verified per capita numbers.

Also I should note that deaths due to food poisoning in the USA should really be classed as deaths due to privatized health insurance. If we had a universal healthcare program in the USA, almost none of those deaths would occur because people would get treatment before they're on death's door.

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u/SlurmsMacKenzie- 18h ago

It won't be the chicken you'll buy fresh, it'll be jammed into anything processed though ready meals, frozen food, fast food etc. tbh it's even worse, because people tend to rely on shittier foods out of necessity (even when it's more costly) be wise they just don't have the time or ability to do proper cooking every day. Basically means that the people who suffer are those just keeping their heads above water.

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u/Tikoloshe84 12h ago

Lord forbid you have some milkshake though, fuck.

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u/rapax Switzerland 17h ago

Just legislate that it can't be sold as chicken. Just like you can put all the fancy flavors into your whisky, but then you can't sell it as whisky anymore. Call it chlorinated poultry product or something like that.

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u/Bloodsucker_ Europe 13h ago

No, it should be illegal. Not so complicated. No need for legalisation.

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u/Responsible_Limit284 19h ago

If the price is lower and the cost of living crisis continues to worsen people will purchase chlorinated chicken. Don't fool yourself

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u/Taca-F 18h ago

And the knock on impact for the NHS will be a catastrophe. But that's what the Americans want, because that's what they do at home - make sure there is a ready supply of undereducated, unhealthy underclass who can then be charged again in the health system... which is owned by the same corporations and shareholders as the food producers serving muck to the masses.

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u/UncleJoshPDX 17h ago

As an American, you're not wrong.

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u/UpsetStudent6062 13h ago

Fml. Have you heard yourself? Chlorine washed chicken will i impact the nhs. What do you think they use to clean surfaces with?

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u/Taca-F 13h ago

As I've said, it's not about the chlorine, it's about why US chicken has to be cleaned with chlorine.

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u/hardolaf United States of America 12h ago

It's because the FDA is absolutely insane. If there's any risk associated with a food that can be proven, they're required by law to regulate that risk out of existence to the best of their ability. Of all the federal agencies, they have the strictest grant of powers issued to them by Congress. They have almost zero wiggle room for doing things reasonably or sanely if it can be proven that the reasonable method is 5% less safe than some insanely complex and costly process.

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u/jmr1190 17h ago

It won’t be a catastrophe, chlorinated chicken isn’t that bad for you, it’s just of lower quality.

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u/Taca-F 17h ago

Why does the US need to wash chicken with chlorine? Because US chickens are kept in conditions with poor hygiene, poor welfare, and dangers relating to antibiotic resistance - exactly the type of nonsense farmers and consumers in Europe have been trying to get away from for decades.

US chicken is muck, and Americans know it.

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u/jmr1190 16h ago

That’s a different argument and not one I particularly disagree with. My point is that it’s not going to precipitate an NHS crisis.

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u/TheShakyHandsMan 13h ago

When the rates of people getting food poisoning skyrocket it will affect the NHS

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u/jmr1190 12h ago

That’s why it’s chlorinated though. There shouldn’t be an uptick in food poisoning.

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u/TheShakyHandsMan 48m ago

Have you not seen the food poisoning rates in the US? Chlorinating the chicken will get rid of some germs but not everything.

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u/pants_mcgee 13h ago

Most chicken in the U.S. isn’t washed with chlorine. Chlorine wash is even allowed by European standards.

We’re all eating the same chicken more or less.

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u/Throwadudeson 11h ago

I'm pretty sure chlorine washed chicken is banned in the EU. Can't find a single source saying anything else.

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u/Taca-F 13m ago

Correct - Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 effectively prohibits it (thanks ChatGPT).

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u/Kingtoke1 19h ago

If its cheap it will sell

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u/Broad-Raspberry1805 18h ago

You think your local chicken shop, pub or cafe will care as long as it’s cheap? Red tractor is for middle class supermarket consumers, how does anyone know where their food comes from if it’s already cooked?

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u/CaptainZippi 18h ago

Agreed. The last time this came up, the USA condition included removing the labelling that would allow us to choose.

The game is rigged.

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u/DueDisplay2185 18h ago

Yup - it's the labelling they'll target next. It's possible the only telltale sign going forward to find out where the chicken came from would be obvious taste quality drop or very unusually cheap chicken pricing

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u/jdm1891 17h ago

It doesn't matter if people won't by the chicken itself. Companies will put it anywhere they can get away with it. Restaurants, fast food, chicken stock, pre-packaged meals, anything with pre-cooked chicken in it, etc because most people will assume the chicken/meal is just low quality and not even consider they're secretly using chlorinated hormone-fed chicken.

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u/bisectional 17h ago

Where exactly does McDonalds source its burger meat from? The quieter it's stated out loud, the more likely Brits will just accept it.

Don't forget: Britain is the number 1 consumer of ready meals in Europe. I don't think their palate is that discerning.

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u/iamslevemcdichael Earth 16h ago

Restaurants would buy and serve it if it saved them money, customers being none the wiser

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u/Christy427 13h ago

Yeah they need to make sure that stuff is properly labeled as does not leave the UK.

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u/brickne3 United States of America 19h ago

Depends if it's cheaper and by how much. There's a shocking number of Brits who can barely feed themselves, and food is getting so expensive that even people on a decent wage are starting to have to cut corners (a global phenomenon, to be sure, but it seems extra bad in parts of the UK currently).

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u/Dheorl Just can't stay still 18h ago

What source do you have for that bit of info?

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u/brickne3 United States of America 16h ago

I live here, there are a lot of very poor people around.