Supermarket refuses to stock chlorinated chicken in blow to possible post-Brexit trade deal with US
US president Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office. Photo: Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images - Credit: Getty Images
A supermarket boss has refused to stock chlorinated chicken and hormone-injected beef in his stores in a blow to a possible post-Brexit trade deal with America.
Waitrose boss James Bailey wrote in the store's Weekend magazine: '[Many observers] believe that in an effort to win a trade deal for the UK, we could see the standards British farmers have worked so hard to reach and uphold, sacrificed'.
'In evidence, they point to a substantial number of examples where American standards fall well below our own: from lower-welfare chicken to hormone treated-beef and the extensive use of antibiotics.'
You may also want to watch:
He added: 'Whatever happens, let me give you our commitment. We promise we will never sell any Waitrose product that does not meet our own high standards.'
Most Read
- 1 Nigel Farage loses nearly 50,000 followers after Twitter suspends QAnon accounts
- 2 Progressive alliance could see Labour win 351 seats at next election, new analysis reveals
- 3 What Auf Wiedersehen, Pet teaches us about Britain and Europe
- 4 Fifteen ways to fix Britain
- 5 Tory minister admits UK rejected EU's music visa offer in order to 'take back control' of borders
- 6 An actor whose politics were a touchy subject
- 7 Michel Barnier tells UK to be 'very careful' in Brexit diplomatic status row
- 8 Holyrood in talks with EU to extend Erasmus scheme to Scottish students
- 9 Michel Barnier tells Britain Brexit red tape is here 'for good'
- 10 The rocky road to Rejoin
Waitrose agriculture manager Jake Pickering tweeted that the company would be writing to all its farmer suppliers to inform them of the commitment.
He tweeted: 'Today we @waitrose will be writing to all of our customers and farmers, to say whatever future trade deals may hold, we remain committed to our farmers! We will never sell any products that do not meet our own high standards. That's our promise to you, our farmers and the nation!'
Research by Which? found 86% of the British public are worried about a weakening of standards after Brexit, with nearly three-quarters (72%) saying they did not want lower-standard products to be allowed on sale here.
Chlorinated chicken and hormone-injected beef are banned under EU regulations but could end up on shelves and in restaurants, hospitals, fast-food outlets and schools unlabelled as part of a post-Brexit trade deal with America.
The Tories at the last election promised to protect British farming and food standards, but have since rejected amendments to the Agriculture Bill that would have prevented such imports.
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.
