MEP horrified at American meat being sold on UK markets after Brexit

The document outlines the compromises the UK would have to accept to secure a deal with the US such as allowing chicken washed in chlorine and beef pumped with hormones – something currently banned in the EU.

East of England MEP Alex Mayer said: “What many of us have been warning about for some time is now available in black and white for everyone to read.”

“I have never met a local shopper who would choose to eat chicken that has been soaked in chlorine or beef injected with hormones.

“British people want high standards of animal welfare and food safety which is what our farmers provide.

“We simply cannot allow British farmers to be undercut by food produced in dodgy ways which would be illegal here. That would be devastating for our local farmers.

“What will they want next? A return to battery hen farming or for us to accept pork produced in inhumane sow stalls?”

Woody Johnson, the US Ambassador to the UK, backed up the document saying washing chickens with chlorine was a “no-brainer” and that US beef fed with growth hormones is “completely safe to eat”.

While there has been no evidence to suggest that American meat poses a risk to humans - since the 1990s American chicken and beef has been banned from European market shelves.

The EU believes that chlorine washes allow poor hygiene on farms and suppliers - encouraging diseases to thrive.

Therefore food processors are only allowed to use cold air and water to decontaminate carcases.

However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) holds that the growth hormones currently being used by the cattle industry are well-tested and safe.

Dissenters say these synthetic hormones could lead to health risks such as early puberty or cancer.

If the UK proceeds with a free trade deal with the US after Brexit then compromises over the importing of the much cheaper American food would have to be accepted according to US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross last year.