US vs. European food standards

epicuric

epicuric

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There are a lot of scare stories in the UK press at the moment about having to potentially lower our food safety standards as part of a new UK/US trade agreement, post Brexit. Chlorine washed chicken, GM foods, steroid injected meat etc. I would be interested on views from both sides of the Atlantic on this. If you are in the UK, does this worry you? Alternatively, from the US perspective, do you think it's a whole load of fuss about nothing?
 
I have the distinct feeling that a lot of things are going to get swept aside soon; food safety, all other manner of health and safety rules, employees' rights and a host of other stuff that is positively scary. I hope I'm wrong, but it isn't a big hope.
 
Due to the fact that the majority of Spaniards are "very traditional" and extremely local in their product selection, there have been relatively no food scares, chlorine washed poultry etcetra ..

The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture regulates what the largest retailer, Department Store, El Corte Ingles Supermarkets or Hyper Core, sell as well as the Central Markets and the other super market chains. They have eliminated all industrials that contain Gmos and Palm Oil etcetra ..

Also, the Central Markets consist of, farmers, fish mongers, butchers, etcetra who sell their own products .. So, it is very carefully guarded.

Not to say, there are no "Gmo poisons" however, perhaps, less than other E.U. countries. I would have to spend some time researching the topic .. Most of us eat Bio as we call it or Organic or naturally locally grown from trusted reliable small farms and producers.

In Spain there are 35 Michelin Star Chefs, which is a large number for a small country. This has been a grand assistance in this fight against Gmos and other poisons .. And this year, more Michelin Stars had been awarded to Spain´s Chefs .. So this is a true positive ..

Paris and Manhattan have 56 Michelin Star Chefs .. The Michelin French Chefs are very united in this War against Gmos.

In Italy, due to the extremely corrupt Government, it is a real war zone .. However, the Michelin Chefs are constantly battling against the issues .. They also like the French and Spaniards, are very local in their purchasing ..

I am fully aware that President Putin of Russia, had declined Gmos and literally told The Monsanto Corp. where they can go !! and he has been creating a Bio / Organic product line of foods for export to E.U. countries, Asia and Canada ..

Greece, as well is extremely on top of this issue .. and Romania and Hungary. Hungary burns Gmos consistently ..

So, it is World War !!!
 
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The quality of some European foods (not necessarily EU) scares the living daylights out of me, let alone what we hear about US food. That is one reason I stick to fresh organic food wherever possible, otherwise class A UK produced meat and dairy (subject to any to my mind dodgy additives, allergies, intolerances etc), for me and my pets, and cook/make my food myself.

When I was doing my nutrition courses, one of the links on the same page as one of the papers we had to read led to a very interesting article about production methods and preservatives (don't ask me for a link - I can't remember). It was by a nutritionist and one of the things that stuck in my mind was that he advised not to buy any food produced in the USA because of the methods they used. He was American!
 
Elawin said:
The quality of some European foods (not necessarily EU) scares the living daylights out of me, let alone what we hear about US food. That is one reason I stick to fresh organic food wherever possible, otherwise class A UK produced meat and dairy (subject to any to my mind dodgy additives, allergies, intolerances etc), for me and my pets, and cook/make my food myself.

When I was doing my nutrition courses, one of the links on the same page as one of the papers we had to read led to a very interesting article about production methods and preservatives (don't ask me for a link - I can't remember). It was by a nutritionist and one of the things that stuck in my mind was that he advised not to buy any food produced in the USA because of the methods they used. He was American!
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@Elawin,

I do not buy anything in plastic except toilet paper / paper towels .. I shop at the Central Market and carry a special back pack or shoulder bag to tote to the apartment. My cheeses are wrapped in a special paper .. So are my shellfish, seafood and fish. I buy only locally and / or organic pasta, risotto Carnaroli and organic herbs and spices with no additives.

I do not buy industrials.

I also read labels . I ask where things ( fish for example and only buy in season ) are from if not marked, I do not buy farmed fish or shellfish ..

We are alot smaller on the mainland península than France, Italy or the U.K ..

So it is easier to gauge the situation.

We also have alot of tiny organic farms for dairy products and veggies and fruits ..

There are many organisations at War with the TTIP and Monsanto - Bayer Corp. I sign approx. 10 to 20 petitons a day for France, Italy & Spain.

Well,
Have a nice day.
 
epicuric said:
There are a lot of scare stories in the UK press at the moment about having to potentially lower our food safety standards as part of a new UK/US trade agreement, post Brexit. Chlorine washed chicken, GM foods, steroid injected meat etc. I would be interested on views from both sides of the Atlantic on this. If you are in the UK, does this worry you? Alternatively, from the US perspective, do you think it's a whole load of fuss about nothing?
Click to expand...
USA finally checking in. No, the chicken producers do not use chlorine to wash chickens. I know what happened there. Some of the cheaper chicken producers (not Tyson or Perdue) do inject their chickens with salt water. (Chemical symbol for salt is NaCl sodium chloride). People see the Cl and think bleach. Now they do clean the production facilities with bleach. As per steroid injected meat, you don't see much if any here. I am assuming you mean GMO foods not GM. People have been doing hybridization for years. It used to be called cross-pollination. Now it is just done in a lab instead of by nature.
As to the quality of the food, it varies.
On vegetables, they pretty much all come from the same fields. He that pays the most gets top pick and the lowest payer gets the leftovers.

GM happens to be General Mills, the largest manufacturer of cereals.

So in conclusion, a bunch of the stuff you hear is overblown hype by someone trying to get you to buy their products instead of their competitors.
 
Interesting thought on this note:
To the Europeans, not counting the US imports, how many different brand names do you have in your stores?
 
I think this is the issue regarding chlorinated chicken:

What is chlorinated chicken?

A widespread practice in the US, chlorine-washing involves spraying carcasses after slaughtering with an antimicrobial solution to kill bacteria and other pathogens.

According to right-wing think tank the Adam Smith Institute, it reduces prevalence of salmonella from 14 to two per cent.

What do we do in the UK?

The EU allows washing only with cold air or water.

The UK follows the “farm to fork” approach, reducing salmonella contamination at other stages of processing – not reliant on the get-out of an antimicrobial rinse at the end of the process.
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http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/c...he-issue-and-why-do-people-care-a3595401.html

Chlorine washed chicken is currently banned from import to the UK - but recent negotiations regarding trade between the US and the UK (in the light of Brexit) have suggested that the ban could be lifted to facilitate trade with the US.
 
morning glory said:
I think this is the issue regarding chlorinated chicken:



http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/c...he-issue-and-why-do-people-care-a3595401.html

Chlorine washed chicken is currently banned from import to the UK - but recent negotiations regarding trade between the US and the UK (in the light of Brexit) have suggested that the ban could be lifted to facilitate trade with the US.
Click to expand...
That says antimicrobial not chlorine. Though it probably is a very mild solution. I would guess less than 10%. The way it sounded at first was they were throwing chickens in straight chlorine and letting them soak. I knew that was wrong. 10% bleach solution is what is used in microbiology labs.
 
MypinchofItaly said:
It is not only an Italian feature
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@MypinchofItaly

Yes, I know it is not only Italy. France has alot or problems as well and other E.U. Countries. Hungary burns the fields and The French burn the fields too close to Provençe ..

The key are the Chefs of Michelin status .. They have alot of power. United we stand, divided we fall as the old proverb says ..

To more pleasant conversations !!
This upsets me greatly ..

Have a nice evening ..
 
Quite coincidentally there has just been an item on the TV news about cattle. Apparently Lincolnshire (where my daughter lives) has the largest number of intensively reared cattle in the UK. They are worried about these cattle being reared by other (i.e. American methods) after Britain leaves the EU, and are encouraging people to switch to grass-fed cattle.
 
Francesca said:
@MypinchofItaly

Yes, I know it is not only Italy. France has alot or problems as well and other E.U. Countries. Hungary burns the fields and The French burn the fields too close to Provençe ..

The key are the Chefs of Michelin status .. They have alot of power. United we stand, divided we fall as the old proverb says ..

To more pleasant conversations !!
This upsets me greatly ..

Have a nice evening ..
Click to expand...
Question on these chefs: where do they have all this power?
In the US, yes the wholesalers give them first pick but they have no say in the producing part.
 
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