Waitrose says it will never stock chlorinated chicken

Supermarket boss says it would be 'wrong' to keep high standards at home and import lower quality food from abroad

Waitrose executive director James Bailey says supermarket will not stock chlorinated chicken (Nick Ansell/PA Wire/PA Images)

The new boss of Waitrose has said the supermarket will never stock chlorinated chicken or hormone-treated beef, as he backed calls to prevent the potential weakening of food standards in the UK under a post-Brexit trade deal with the US.

James Bailey, who previously worked as a buying director at Sainsbury's, said the public was right to care about the issue.

Writing in Waitrose's Weekend Magazine, Mr Bailey referred to the fact that more than a million people signed a National Farmers Union petition calling on the government to ensure that imports are kept to the same standards as food produced by British farmers.

"It would be simply wrong to maintain high standards at home yet import food from overseas that has been produced to lower standards. We would be closing our eyes to a problem that exists in another part of the world and to animals who are out of our sight and our minds," he said.

Mr Bailey added: "We will never sell any Waitrose & Partners product that does not meet our own high standards."

His opinion is shared by most British consumers, according to a poll carried out for consumer group Which?.

The survey of more than 2,000 people found that 74 per cent of those questioned are opposed to imports of lower quality food coming as part of a UK-US trade deal, while 95 per cent of respondents said it is important for the UK to keep its existing standards.

With trade negotiations between the UK and the US ongoing, Which? wants the government to make a legal commitment to protecting food standards. The organisation argues this could be done through the Agriculture or Trade Bills currently before government.

Sue Davies, head of consumer protection and food policy at Which?, said: "People in Britain - whether rich or poor - are absolutely united in their opposition to lowering food standards and allowing imports of products like chlorine-washed chicken or hormone-treated beef into our supermarkets, schools and hospitals."

"Food standards in the UK must not be compromised by any trade deal that would betray decades of progress on food safety, quality and animal welfare," she added.

In response to concerns that food quality will be compromised under future trade deals, international trade secretary Liz Truss told MP last week that she would not sign up to any agreement that would jeopardise the UK's high standards.

Additional reporting from the Press Association