Environment Secretary Michael Gove has said the UK should say "no" to chlorine washed chicken from the United States, in direct contradiction with International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox. Asked by the BBC's Nick Robinson whether the UK should allow the import of chorine washed chicken, "yes or no", The Environment Secretary gave a straightforward answer:
“No. I made it perfectly clear, and this is something on which all members of the government are agreed. We are not going to dilute our high food safety standards or our high environmental standards in pursuit of any trade deal. Our position when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, and our position now, is to be a leader in environmental standards.
On BBC Newsnight last night, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said there was "no health issue" with chorine washed chicken.
Asked about the practice of washing poultry carcasses in chlorinated water, Dr Fox said: "There is no health issue with that - the European Union has said that is perfectly safe.
"The issue lies around some of the secondary issues of animal welfare and it's perfectly reasonable for people to raise that but it will come much further down the road.
"We will want to ensure that the scientific advice that we have ensures proper protection for British consumers because dropping our standards is not the way for Britain."
He ruled out "dropping our standards on consumer protection or environmental protection or on animal welfare", and said they were "all perfectly reasonable things for people to look at".
"But in terms of where we will be on specifics by the time we finish a free trade agreement which could be two or three years by the time it's concluded and implemented depending on what happens with the rest of our relationship with the EU it's too early to say.
"But you can say on a general principle that we are not going to be the low regulation alternative that some people have suggested."
His comments follow controversy over the US practice of chlorine-washing chicken to reduce the risk of contaminated meat and concern that Britain could drop standards to secure a post-Brexit trade deal with the US.
Dr Fox previously condemned media "obsession" with the issue, which he said would be only "a detail of the very end stage of one sector of a potential free trade agreement".
The House of Lords Energy and Environment sub-committee warned that animal welfare standards could be undermined if post-Brexit trade deals left UK farmers competing against less-regulated foreign rivals.
The peers also raised concerns about the "overwhelming reliance" on EU citizens in crucial veterinary positions and urged ministers to make sure the industry was able to fill those roles after Brexit.
The report said: "Our evidence strongly suggests that the greatest threat to farm animal welfare standards post-Brexit would come from UK farmers competing against cheap, imported food from countries that produce to lower standards than the UK.
"Unless consumers are willing to pay for higher welfare products, UK farmers could become uncompetitive and welfare standards in the UK could come under pressure."
They warned that imports from lower-welfare countries could "undermine the sustainability of the industry or incentivise a race to the bottom for welfare standards - contrary to the wishes of the UK industry".
Mr Gove disputed the suggestion his words contradicted his colleague, adding: "What The Trade Secretary quite rightly pointed out is that of course this issue is important, but we mustn’t concentrate on just this one issue when we look at the huge potential of being outside the European Union."
