May 15, 2008

EU producers use banned poultry cleaning process
 

European poultry producers allegedly use a chlorine washing process on exported chicken, the Financial Times reported.

This method is the reason behind the de facto ban on US poultry sales in the EU.

Chicken meat for domestic consumption must be cleaned using water of drinking quality. Poultry meat in the US is washed in a chlorine solution, thus no genuine US poultry has been consumed in EU states for the past 11 years.

The Financial Times reported, however, that it has seen internal documents from the European Commission showing that chlorine washing is allowed for poultry being exported from the EU.

The US is currently pushing for the lifting of the de facto ban on poultry exports to the EU.