Findings spark calls for EU action on chicken
European Commission pushing for new measures to prevent very high
levels of unnecessary water being added to chicken and an end to
'ripping the consumer off'.
The UK Food Standards Agency has made recommendations to the European Commission pushing for new measures to prevent very high levels of unnecessary water being added to chicken and an end to 'ripping the consumer off'. The move follows recent surveys, and a damning BBC television documentary, that highlighted excessive use of water.
The FSA said that it is hoping to see the amount of water that may be added to chicken capped at 15 per cent, and a ban on the use of non-chicken proteins (such as beef and pork) in chicken.
Two surveys by the FSA in the UK - December 2001 and March 2003 - revealed that some chicken pieces had as much as 55 per cent added water. In this particularly excessive case, although described as 'Chicken Breast Meat', the sample only actually contained 41 per cent chicken meat.In some cases beef and pork proteins were used to retain the very high levels of added water.
Under current European legislation, as long as a product is accurately labelled, it is not illegal to add water or animal proteins.
But the FSA surveys also revealed that many products were mislabelled and 20 local authorities are considering formal enforcement action against the relevant companies.
Dutch authorities have reported that they have taken formal enforcement action against five companies processing chicken products in the Netherlands, which is at the centre of this industry.
"The Agency uncovered this scam and has been working with local authorities to stamp it out. We have also provided information to the Dutch authorities to aid their prosecutions," said FSA chairman Sir John Krebs.
Commenting on the existing European rules he added : "It may be legal but it doesn't make it acceptable. The only reason to add the proteins is to pump up the water to high levels. That's a recipe for ripping consumers off."
