Retailers put on the spot over chlorinated chicken amid trade deal fears

Britain’s biggest supermarkets are under growing pressure to publicly rule out chlorinated chicken, as campaigners and farmers warn that food standards risk being traded away in UK-US negotiations.

Retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi and Waitrose have been asked to clarify whether they will continue to keep lower-standard imports off their shelves, amid renewed scrutiny of how food origin and standards are communicated to shoppers.

The pressure follows a campaign led by 38 Degrees, which says consumer concern is intensifying as trade talks with the US continue, building on a framework agreement reached in June 2025.

More than 150,000 shoppers have backed the campaign, urging supermarkets to commit to rejecting chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated meat.

Polling commissioned by the group and carried out by Savanta suggests supermarkets could face significant public backlash if such products were allowed onto shelves.

The survey found 68% of UK adults oppose selling chlorinated chicken or hormone-treated meat in UK supermarkets, even if it helped secure a trade deal with the US, while just 9% said they would support the move.

Opposition spans the political spectrum, with majorities of Labour, Conservative and Reform voters against the products appearing in stores.

For farmers, the issue goes beyond consumer choice. Industry groups have long warned that allowing imports produced to lower standards risks undercutting domestic producers already operating under stricter welfare, environmental and food safety rules.

Chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-treated beef are currently banned in the UK, and standards have repeatedly been cited by farming organisations as a red line in trade negotiations.

Alongside the polling, more than 75,000 shoppers have also signed a separate petition calling on retailers to rule out stocking chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-treated beef.

In a letter to supermarket chief executives, 38 Degrees warned that selling such products would be a “red line” for many customers.

Campaigners argue that chlorine washing is linked to poorer animal welfare standards in parts of the US poultry sector, while hormone-treated meat remains banned in the UK on public health grounds.

They also warn that cheaper imports produced to lower standards would put further pressure on British farmers’ margins at a time of rising costs and ongoing market volatility.

Supermarkets sit at the centre of the debate, having made voluntary commitments in 2020 to keep such products off their shelves, even as trade policy remains the responsibility of government.

Retailers have now been given until 2 February to confirm whether they will renew those commitments, as pressure grows for clear assurances on food standards and sourcing.

For the farming sector, the outcome is seen as a key test of whether standards promised in policy are upheld at the checkout, or eroded through imports that UK producers are not allowed to match.