Trump's farming chief says 'hormone-fed beef is safe' as she pushes for Britain to buy US meat
American meat is safe for consumption and should be sold in British supermarkets, Donald Trump's agriculture chief has said as she called for fresh talks with the UK
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Brooke Rollins, US Agriculture Secretary, is pushing for closer alignment with the UK on food standards regulations.
Her comments came during a visit to London, and just says after the UK-US trade deal was struck.
Agriculture forms a key component of last week's deal.
Ms Rollins previously said it would be"very, very good" for American farmers and "for our ranchers that have long suffered as we begin to realign.”
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However, she stressed that deal was “an agreement in concept,” adding that more details still need to be fleshed out.
Ministers have ruled out downgrading food standards as part of the deal. It came amid concerns that the UK would have to accept controversial US products such hormone-fed beef and chlorinated chicken.
Ms Rollins said she was "proud of US producers and suggested the US market is starting to move away from hormone-treated beef."
"We have decades of research that show that the beef produced in America whether it is hormone or hormone-free is entirely safe and we believe is one of the crown jewels of our American agricultural industry," she added.
'Important myth to dispel'
She claimed that just 5% of US chicken is chlorinated, arguing that there is a "myth to dispel" around it.
Ms Rollins said: "I think that is a narrative in your country that perhaps we have not done a good enough job pushing back on, so I think that's an important myth to dispel."
The US Agriculture Chief met UK Environment Secretary Steve Reed and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds to on Tuesday to promote US agricultural products.
She told reporters following the meeting that last week's deal signalled "the first of many steps moving forward" as she urged Britain to consider accepting more American meats in the future.
For now, American pork, poultry, seafood, rice and speciality crops will be at 'front of the line' for trade with the UK.
"Certainly pork and poultry, I believe, are at the front of the line, along with rice and seafood and other things,' Ms Rollins said.
She also claimed that the UK "really relies on China and Russia" while the US has "extraordinary, best in class seafood".
In the US, it is common practice to wash poultry with chlorinated water during processing to reduce bacterial contamination.
The American argument is that this can improve food safety but it is not one reflected in the UK or the EU.The RSPCA is opposed to the practice for fears it could be used to compensate for poorer animal welfare standards.
It also has environmental impacts and is banned in the UK.
Instead, British farms subscribe to minimum welfare quality standards for poultry which means that production is completed in conditions that are safe enough to mean that carcasses do not need to be dosed in chlorine.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband told LBC’s Nick Ferrari that he's "not into chlorinated chicken" and would not eat it even if it was included in a future deal.
Mr Miliband said: "The key criteria for any trade deal is does it benefit Britain?"And that's what the chancellor [and] the business secretary will be focused on. I think they probably will be less interested for a whole range of reasons in my eating habits."