Liam Fox refuses to say he would eat a chlorine-washed chicken as poultry row overshadows his US trade visit
International Trade Secretary condemned media 'obsession' with the subject as he tries to secure post-Brexit deal
TORY TRADE CHIEF Liam Fox was yesterday challenged to eat a chlorine-rinsed chicken as a fierce row erupted over Brexit trade deal with the US.
Pro-EU campaigners dared the Brexit-backing Cabinet Secretary to back his words with action after he signalled he was relaxed about lifting a ban on the American poultry.
Speaking in Washington DC yesterday Mr Fox described the sale of chlorine-washed US birds in the UK as a “detail”.
And he mocked the British media criticising US meat how they coped when based over in the American capital.
But James McGrory of the ‘Remain’ lobbyists Open Britain stormed: “If the International Trade Secretary wants the public trust him, he needs to take the opportunity while he’s in the US to devour a chlorine-washed chicken live on camera. The choice of recipe is up to him.
“The proof of the chicken is in the eating. He must be the only Fox who doesn’t want to eat one.”
The EU currently bans the chlorine washed birds on health grounds.
But campaigners argue a Brexit trade deal with the US will force the UK to lift the restriction – allowing the products to be sold on supermarket shelves.
Open Britain said that by eating American chicken, Mr Fox could follow the famous example of then Minister John Gunmer – who got his daughter to eat a beef burger for the cameras during the BSE crisis.
Mr Fox snapped yesterday when asked in front of an American audience when asked about the food spat. He hit out at the British media’s obsession with a “detail at the very end stage of one sector” of trade talks that could prove transformational for the Brexit economy.
Health campaigners argue that the use of chlorine to decontaminate chicken encourages sloppy standards during the processing stage in abattoirs.
A cross-party Lords Committee last night said the row highlighted concerns that free trade deals with countries post Brexit could lower food standards in Britain. But the Adam Smith Institute said there was no evidence that eating chlorinated chicken in moderation posed any risk to human health.
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And the think tank argued that lifting restrictions would be good for hard-pressed consumers as a kilo of chicken was 21 per cent cheaper in the US than in the UK.
It added that the EU’s own scientific advisers believe it’s “no safety concern”.
Sources close to Liam Fox say he believes there is no issue, and that “Americans have been eating it perfectly safely for years”.
But Environment Secretary Michael Gove has insisted that British food standards should not be downgraded in anyway.
The PM’s official spokesman said: “Our position when it comes to food is that maintaining the safety and public confidence in the food we eat is of the highest priority.
“Any future trade deal must work for farmers, businesses and consumers.”
EU calls fowl on chemicals
CHICKEN in America is sprayed or immersed in a chlorine dioxide solution to remove harmful bacteria, such as salmonella.
The system is strictly banned in EU member states where processors only use cold air and water. US regulators argue that chlorinated chicken is completely safe but the EU asserts that it allows bad hygiene in other parts of the supply chain, such as on farms.
Think tank, The Adam Institute, said embracing chlorinated-chicken would lead to cheaper meat.
