National News The Brexit Thread 🇬🇧🇪🇺

[RyanioBirdio]

Currently a raw product arrives in the UK from Thailand, China.........or any EU country.
Under current regulations it can be labelled as UK (EU Plant Number) if the last process happened on UK soil.

From the FSA:
The FIC identifies the origin of a food as being either its 'country of origin' or 'place of provenance'. The 'country of origin' is the country from which the product was wholly obtained or, if production involved more than one country, the country where the product last underwent substantial, economically justified processing. The 'place of provenance' is any place where a food is indicated to come from that is not the 'country of origin'.

So it already happens.............

This also applies to things like clothing and merchandise. If you buy a T-shirt that was made in a sweatshop in Thailand but you stamp the ink on it in a printing factory in Leeds, you get to proudly proclaim that the garment is Made In The UK. Which also means you can charge more for it, because people assume that the garment being made here means it’s more ethical, and therefore costs more but is a price worth paying etc.

The system works.

 

[chuckbert]

This also applies to things like clothing and merchandise. If you buy a T-shirt that was made in a sweatshop in Thailand but you stamp the ink on it in a printing factory in Leeds, you get to proudly proclaim that the garment is Made In The UK. Which also means you can charge more for it, because people assume that the garment being made here means it’s more ethical, and therefore costs more but is a price worth paying etc.

The system works.

Hmm. Does the fact that the value goes up because it meets the criterion of "Made in the UK" count as "economically justified processing"? I suspect a circle-jerk here.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

Hmm. Does the fact that the value goes up because it meets the criterion of "Made in the UK" count as "economically justified processing"? I suspect a circle-jerk here.

I think it’s called “ripping people off”.

 

[Navegante]

The NHS and chlorinated chicken now back on the negotiation table. Here

 

[Gary Baldi]

Still, let's eat chlorinated salad, cause that's ok!

 

[Essexyellows]

The NHS has had "bits sold off" for decades. Mostly the dull stuff that nobody gives a toss about despite all the hand wringing. The porters, cleaners etc invariably get off loaded to a private company, the service goes to pot, the private company realises it can`t fulfil the contract pitch and the circle starts again. Doesn`t matter who is in the chair.
Chlorinated chicken - it is down to the consumer not to buy cheap products and understand where their £1.99 Tesco Chicken Burgers have come from.. I won`t hold my breath on that.

We, as consumers, forget that the power sits in our pocket by making better & more sustainable choices. One thing I have learnt through lockdown is what is really "essential".

 

[m]

Still, let's eat chlorinated salad, cause that's ok!

People do seem to care less for the welfare of their salad (than for a chicken) prior to eating it.

Does this concern you?

 

[Essexyellows]

You could do worse than listen to Ben.

https://www.facebook.com/benbradleymansfield/posts/3191901257555297

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Chlorinated chicken - it is down to the consumer not to buy cheap products and understand where their £1.99 Tesco Chicken Burgers have come from.. I won`t hold my breath on that.

Let's just hope that everything with this muck in it (not that I eat it personally) is clearly labelled so that people know exactly what variety of Soylent Green they are purchasing. I have my doubts about whether it will be though....

 

[Gary Baldi]

People do seem to care less for the welfare of their salad (than for a chicken) prior to eating it.

Does this concern you?

Yes and No.

At a high level no, because the reality is most food is processed to a high level to maintain as long a life span as possible and very few people seem excised about Chlorinated Salad, additives or see them as a problem with the same voracity as Chicken. Chlorinated Chicken has turned into a massive squirrel.

After all. So many of us travel abroad and don't spend any time thinking about how the food we eat is treated locally.

 

[m]

Is the massive squirrel chlorinated?

Personally I don't object to the use of chlorine in food prep per se, I object to the need for it as a function of the conditions the chickens are kept in.

 

[Gary Baldi]

Is the massive squirrel chlorinated?

Personally I don't object to the use of chlorine in food prep per se, I object to the need for it as a function of the conditions the chickens are kept in.

I think so as it sets a scene that all we will get is cheap low grade items from America and lose control of "our NHS". It done to make people fearful.

This article is very interesting:

Chlorinated chicken explained: why do the Americans treat their poultry with chlorine?

The prospect of the UK accepting US chicken treated with chlorine in order to secure a lucrative trade deal has got everyone in a flap. But just what is chlorine chicken? And what's the problem with it?

www.thegrocer.co.uk

So is it safe?

US regulators are unequivocal: yes, it’s safe. The USDA has approved several antimicrobial rinses for use in poultry processing, including chlorine dioxide, acidified sodium chlorite, trisodium phosphate and peroxyacids, and meat treated with such rinses is considered safe for consumers to eat.

And, in fact, their EU colleagues agree. The European food safety regulator EFSA looked at the issue of chlorine treatment and found “chemical substances in poultry are unlikely to pose an immediate or acute health risk for consumers.”

What’s more, the US National Chicken Council estimates that only 10% of the processing plants in the US actually use chlorine washes.

But many Europeans argue it’s not simply about whether chlorine treatment is safe. They believe a farm to fork approach of avoiding bacteria contamination delivers better public health outcomes all round – and that allowing chlorine treatment disincentivises industry to put in place proper hygiene practices.

In a piece from 2014, Monica Goyens of the EU consumer body BEUC wrote: “Essentially, what we are concerned about is not just the chemical itself, but rather the risk that these treatments will be seen as the “easy fix” to clean up dirty meat. Let’s be clear – no chemical rinse will ever remove all bacteria from meat heavily contaminated as a result of poor hygiene.”

It's a very big squirrel to put fear into consumers when the reality is mixed and we are generally ignorant about our own food standards - having worked in a factory, you see things you can't unsee. Welfare is a big concern for me and I do my best to avoid low quality food, but I appreciate not everyone can do that.

Also, how many American's die each year from eating Chlorinated chicken? If the stat was as damning as the scaremongering suggests, we'd hear about it wouldn't we?

Would I buy Chicken from America? Highly unlikely.

 

[m]

I think so as it sets a scene that all we will get is cheap low grade items from America and lose control of "our NHS". It done to make people fearful.

This article is very interesting:

Chlorinated chicken explained: why do the Americans treat their poultry with chlorine?

The prospect of the UK accepting US chicken treated with chlorine in order to secure a lucrative trade deal has got everyone in a flap. But just what is chlorine chicken? And what's the problem with it?

www.thegrocer.co.uk

It's a very big squirrel to put fear into consumers when the reality is mixed and we are generally ignorant about our own food standards - having worked in a factory, you see things you can't unsee. Welfare is a big concern for me and I do my best to avoid low quality food, but I appreciate not everyone can do that.

Also, how many American's die each year from eating Chlorinated chicken? If the stat was as damning as the scaremongering suggests, we'd hear about it wouldn't we?

Would I buy Chicken from America? Highly unlikely.

Ha! Yeah, I too worked briefly in food processing! Best not think about it....

Yeah, the scaremongering is just that; scaremongering!

It shouldn't obfuscate genuine concerns however.

 

[QR]

I think so as it sets a scene that all we will get is cheap low grade items from America and lose control of "our NHS". It done to make people fearful.

This article is very interesting:

Chlorinated chicken explained: why do the Americans treat their poultry with chlorine?

The prospect of the UK accepting US chicken treated with chlorine in order to secure a lucrative trade deal has got everyone in a flap. But just what is chlorine chicken? And what's the problem with it?

www.thegrocer.co.uk

It's a very big squirrel to put fear into consumers when the reality is mixed and we are generally ignorant about our own food standards - having worked in a factory, you see things you can't unsee. Welfare is a big concern for me and I do my best to avoid low quality food, but I appreciate not everyone can do that.

Also, how many American's die each year from eating Chlorinated chicken? If the stat was as damning as the scaremongering suggests, we'd hear about it wouldn't we?

Would I buy Chicken from America? Highly unlikely.

If you won't eat it why do you think it's OK to import it for others to eat?

 

[SteMerritt]

If you won't eat it why do you think it's OK to import it for others to eat?

Consumer choice I'd guess...

I just hope when it happens, because it will, that the country of origin is clearly marked on the packaging, then we can decide to buy or not to buy. I won't be buying it.

 

[stokeu]

I think it's called personal choice... or poverty....or something

 

[stokeu]

Consumer choice I'd guess...

I just hope when it happens, because it will, that the destination is clearly marked on the packaging, then we can decide to buy or not to buy. I won't be buying it.

/pedantry

Hopefully it's the origin that's noted.

 

[SteMerritt]

/pedantry

Hopefully it's the origin that's noted.

FFS, that'll teach me to reply whilst in a coding block ? Updated.

 

[Gary Baldi]

Consumer choice I'd guess...

I just hope when it happens, because it will, that the country of origin is clearly marked on the packaging, then we can decide to buy or not to buy. I won't be buying it.

I am fortunate enough to afford to buy nicer chicken/meat, but having shopped for some neighbours in the recent crisis, it's reiterated to me that some people don't necessarily get the choice that I do in the shops without losing out somewhere else.

The scaremongering over Chlorinated Chicken is a bit silly tho.

 

[YellowTaxi]

It was the EU that brought in labelling which showed country of origin.

This government will get rid of it.