For related articles and information, please visit OCA’s Politics and Democracy page.

Unlike in the United States, Europeans have a much lower tolerance for meat products treated with chemicals and antibiotics, and they’re not very fond of genetically modified foods (GM) either.

Last week, European and U.S. officials entered into the sixth round of negotiations over whether or not to allow the import of chlorine-washed chicken into the European Union (EU) under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Although banned by the EU and USDA organic rules, conventional chicken in the United States is routinely bathed in chlorine baths to disinfect the carcass in order to remove any pathogens, a practice that the EU prefers to avoid.

At a stakeholder forum held by the European Commission on July 16, consumer and environmental groups warned that, under the TTIP, chlorine-washed American chicken could flood EU markets and damage public health, according to a report by
Global Meat News.

The EU also still blocks imports of American hormone-treated beef and refuses to accept any meat that’s treated with anything more than water.

“In the UK, Denmark and Finland, studies found that consumers acceptance of meat treated with chemicals is very low,” said Camille Perrin, senior food policy officer at the European consumer organization Bureau Europeen des Unions de Consommateurs (BEUC).

“It is vital that European consumers’ preference for meat that has not been washed with chemicals is recognised and protected especially because this practice would threaten the farm-to-fork approach to food safety and also public health,” she added.

U.S. officials rejected Perrin’s remarks, arguing that chlorine-washed chicken is a “safe alternative” and consumers shouldn’t be denied maximum choice if the food is proven to be safe.