WARNING OVER U.S. TURKEYS

FAMILIES face having turkey washed in chlorine on the Christmas menu if imports from the US are allowed under a trade deal, researchers claimed.

A team of academics from the University of Sussex, Cardiff University and City University of London said it would be safer if the UK keeps European Union standards and argues future controls should be ‘stricter, not weaker’. In a joint paper, they said American authorities allow produce to be washed disinfectants including chlorine, and cited statistics which show that 9 per cent of chicken breast in the US contains pathogens such as salmonella.

By contrast, the approach in the UK and EU means hygiene standards are sufficiently high enough that they do not need to be disinfected. Co-author Professor Tim Lang, of City University, said: ‘We cannot support any weakening of UK food hygiene standards.’