Should we worry if this meat ends up in our supermarkets?
Who would have thought that the most public Cabinet row of the new parliament would be about whether, and how, to wash chickens?
Has the silly season struck early? No, it IS a serious issue with possibly wider implications for our future trade, food safety, animal welfare and health.
Here, environmental expert Geoffrey Lean analyses the pros and cons.
HOW IS AMERICAN CHICKEN CHLORINATED?
After the birds are slaughtered, and their guts removed, the carcasses are immersed in water treated with less than 50 parts per million of chlorine (more than ten times as much as commonly used to treat drinking water), which is then rinsed off.
This kills pathogens and cuts the risk of food poisoning and other illnesses; the influential think-tank the Adam Smith Institute says that the process cuts the risk of salmonella poisoning from 14 to 2 per cent.
WHY DON’T WE HAVE CHLORINE-WASHED CHICKEN?
In 1997 the EU banned the practice, and importing birds treated with it, for health and safety reasons. EU processors are only allowed to use cold air and water to decontaminate poultry carcasses.
The US says that the ban is not based on scientific evidence and is a protectionist measure designed to protect European producers from more competitive imports. Indeed, the European Food Safety Authority has agreed that four types of chemical rinse, including chlorine dioxide used in treating American chicken ‘would be of no safety concern’. The dispute continues to be a major issue in EU-US trade relations.
WHAT ARE THE HEALTH FEARS?
Chlorine is a toxic chemical; that’s why it’s used for decontamination. Inhaling or drinking high concentrations of it, as in household bleach, can cause vomiting, coma and even death. When it comes to chlorinated chicken we are talking about very diluted amounts.
However, critics say that even at these low levels, the chlorine can react with organic matter to produce compounds known as ‘chlorine disinfectant by-products’ (DBPs) – trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids – which have been linked with cancer.
AREN’T WE EXPOSED TO CHLORINE ANYWAY?
Yes. Chlorine has been used to purify drinking water since the late 19th century, which has prevented waterborne diseases such as cholera, and saved countless lives. But there are studies that show people who drink water containing DBPs over a long period are more likely to develop bladder cancer. (In some places, the drinking water may contain traces of organic matter such as peat or leaf debris that can react with the chlorine used to treat it to form DBPs.)
There are also studies that suggest a possibly increased cancer risk from chlorinated water in swimming pools, and even from taking frequent baths.
COULD THE CHICKEN BE A CANCER RISK?
In theory yes; meat is, of course, an organic substance, so DBPs could be formed when it is exposed to chlorine. But it is unlikely to be a big risk. According to European Commission data, a person would have to consume nearly three whole chickens a day to reach the safety limit ( though experts assume there is never a safe level for cancer-causing substances).
Chlorinated drinking water poses a far greater risk, accounting for 99 per cent of the DBP exposure in a typical daily diet.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER SAFETY CONCERNS?
Yes – and this is really the EU’s biggest objection to the chlorination. They say that washing chickens with chlorinated water at the end of processing is a ‘catch-all’ used to cover up unhygienic and dangerous practices at earlier stages. Some have called it ‘an easy fix for dirty meat’.
In addition, critics claim that chlorine washing only kills bacteria on the surface of the birds, not in the flesh. In contrast, European regulations demand that any poultry its citizens consume must be subject to strict hygiene controls at every stage of production.
WHO ENSURES FOOD SAFETY IN THE US?
The US Food and Drug Administration has responsibility. Critics say that while it is extremely stringent on the pharmaceutical industry, it is more lax when it comes to food safety, possibly because of the lobbying power of the big farms and producers.
DOES THIS AFFECT PRICES IN THE SHOPS?
The stricter European controls clearly cost more to enforce, thus increasing prices. According to the Adam Smith Institute, the average price of a kilo of fresh whole chicken is more than a fifth cheaper in the US than in Britain (2015 figures). Of course, many other factors may be involved, such as economies of scale, but the cheaper decontamination system presumably plays a part.
ISN’T CHEAPER CHICKEN A GOOD THING?
For the wallet and people on tight budgets, yes, provided of course that it is safe. But there are wider worries – recently expressed by a House of Lords committee, among others – that falling prices due to cheap US imports after a trade deal could hurt British farmers, forcing reductions in the quality of the food they produce, and harming animal welfare.
WOULD A US DEAL BE BAD FOR FOOD SAFETY?
American farmers are big users of hormones and antibiotics in their livestock, while GM crops are widely used in food production. This has raised concerns that a post-Brexit trade deal will diminish British safety standards, while animal welfare may suffer as domestic producers cut costs to compete on price.
If ministers are vigilant this should not be a problem. A recent House of Lords committee report said there was ‘no reason why Brexit should diminish animal welfare’ so long as the Government acts to ensure standards are maintained – something that Michael Gove seems determined to ensure.
DOES THIS CHICKEN TASTE DIFFERENT?
That is, as they say, a matter of taste. Many food experts insist that the fewer the chemicals, the better the natural flavour of any food. But the treated birds don’t smell, or taste, of chlorine.
Experiments by the University of Georgia found that chlorinated white (but not dark) chicken meat tasted less fresh after four days in the fridge than non- chlorine washed chicken.