There has been a big uptick in conversation and media coverage this week, mostly in UK press and social media, about the issue of “chlorinated chicken,” as the UK trade minister visited Washington this week amid US-UK trade talks post-Brexit.
In response, NCC updated and has been promoting its FAQ on the subject which can be found on Chicken Check In by clicking here. The council has also been responding to media inquiries with the following statement:
“A lot of U.S. plants have moved away from chlorinated water in their chilling systems and rinses. The U.S. is ready to use acceptable chlorine alternatives that would meet the requirements established by both the U.S. and potential trading partners.
“Regardless, safe levels of chlorinated water, and several other antimicrobials, have been deemed to be safe and efficacious by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which sets international standards for food safety that are considered benchmark standards under the WTO system.
“Studies have determined that there are no residues of hazardous substances in poultry meat treated with chlorine-based compounds.
“For perspective, if chlorine is used in immersion chilling systems, it is used in parts per million and incorporated into the several thousand gallons of water present, and is diluted significantly. Most chillers rarely exceed 3-5 parts per million when tested at the overflow. To put a part per million into perspective, it is equivalent to one minute in almost two years. There are these small, safe levels of chlorine in most of the drinking water in the United States and in the UK. Why aren’t Britons calling for the removal of chlorine from their drinking water?
“The bottom line is that its use makes the chicken safer, it is not present in the final product, it poses zero health risk, and there are alternatives being used (already approved by the EFSA) to help the industry meet U.S. government and international food safety standards. We believe that trade negotiations should be based on sound science, not political science or fear mongering.
“We’d be happy to have access and the opportunity to compete in Britain, but it certainly is not the ‘be all and end all’ for our industry, by any means. We’re the #2 poultry exporter in the world and we export 20% of our domestic production already to more than 100 countries.”
