LONDON — Insect-filled chocolates, rat hair-infested noodles, and orange juice containing maggots are just some of the "horrors" UK consumers could be forced to accept if post-Brexit Britain signs a wide-ranging trade deal with the USA.
In the US, producers adhere to a "
EU there are no allowable limits for foreign bodies in food products. MPs have told Business Insider they are worried that a UK-US trade deal designed by Brexiteers could open the floodgates to contaminated food.
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"Clearly, The Tories have some very unpleasant surprises for UK dinner tables if they have their way with a fast-track trade deal with the United States," Bill Esterson, Labour MP and
"We know the Tories are keen on chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-fed beef but they surely cannot expect that the British public will be happy to swallow these other horrors."
Caroline Lucas, ex-leader of the Green party and supporter of the People's Vote campaign, added: "This is the gruesome reality of the US trade deal being touted by Liam Fox as one of the great benefits of leaving the EU.
"Under the government's disastrous Brexit, we will finally be free to eat all the maggot-ridden food we like. No-one voted for a Brexit that waters down the safety and hygiene of our food — but that's what the government is pursuing."
The US actively dislikes many existing EU measures
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UK Trade Secretary Liam Fox has denied that the UK will lower its food standards after Brexit but has not ruled out changing standards in order to strike new trade deals around the world. He said in November he had "no objection" to UK consumers eating products which are currently banned by the EU after Brexit, like chlorine-washed chicken.
Fox described today's story as "baseless" and "untrue" in a tweet posted this afternoon.
However, Sam Lowe, a trade specialist at the Centre For European Reform, predicted that the US would want the UK to move away from EU food standards and much closer to its own in any future free trade deal negotiation.
"The US actively dislikes many existing EU measures and will certainly pressurise the UK to jettison many of them in any FTA negotiations with the UK," Lowe told BI this week.
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He was echoed by a former US Treasury official, who told BI: "
A spokesperson for the Department for International Trade said: "We have been clear we will not lower food, animal welfare or environmental standards as part of any free trade agreement.
"To suggest otherwise is completely false. Maintaining them is the right thing to do for our consumers and maintains the UK’s world-renowned reputation for high-quality products."
A poll published earlier this year found that an overwhelming majority of Brits were willing to ditch a post-Brexit deal with the US in order to protect UK’s animal welfare and food safety standards.
US food law allows traces of rodent in a variety of foods. For example, producers are allowed up to 11 rodent hairs per 25 grams of paprika and cinnamon; 4.5 hairs per 225 grams of noodles; and 4 hairs per 25 grams of curry powder.
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A UK-US free trade deal could lead to maggots hiding in some of your favourite food products. US producers are currently allowed one maggot per 250 millilitres of citrus juice — like orange and apple juice — and two per 100 grams of tomato juice. You could also find two maggots for every 100 grams of the tomato paste used on pizzas.
If you're a fan of insects being in your food, then a comprehensive free trade deal with the US ought to be your Brexit priority. In the US, the law allows up to 30 insect fragments per 100 grams of peanut butter; 60 insect fragments per 100 grams of chocolate; and up to 100 per 10 grams of nutmeg.
The US also allows worms and caterpillars in food products. But don't worry — there are rules. For example, only 3% of canned peaches and 5% of currants can be "wormy" (definition:
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