Thousands of tonnes of American beef are on their way to the UK as part of a new trade deal between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The agreement calls for importing enough meat to serve an average steak to every adult in the country – a total of 13,000 tons.
The British government has insisted that hormone-treated beef – common in American supermarkets – will not be part of the deal.
These animals are injected with growth hormones to accelerate muscle development and reduce the time to slaughter, which makes production faster and cheaper.
But this practice has been linked to concerns such as early puberty in children and increased cancer risk in consumers.
Beef raised with hormones has been banned in the UK since 1989, after the EU declared it unsafe.
Also, chicken "cleaned" with chlorine, another "red line" for the British government, will remain banned.
However, experts warn that border controls are not strong enough to stop hormone-treated meat from being smuggled into the country.
About 80 percent of all beef in the U.S. comes from animals fed growth-promoting hormones, according to the American Cattlemen's Association.
These hormones yield more meat per animal and a greater profit for the producer.
An alarming report from the 70s suggested that Italian boys at school began developing breast tissue after consuming hormone-laced meat.
Similar reports also linked the product to premature puberty in girls.
Some of these hormones were assessed by EU scientists as dangerous for the development of cancers, including breast and prostate cancer.
But in contrast, experts in the US and Australia, where these hormones are also used, consider the meat safe for human consumption.
Preventing this meat from entering Britain will depend on random checks at the border.
But the current system is not foolproof, according to Professor Chris Elliott, a food safety expert at Queen's University Belfast.
He said the tests are expensive, costing hundreds of pounds each, and there are signs they are not detecting every case.
"There was evidence that meat claimed to be 'hormone-free' was actually treated with anabolic steroids," he told the newspaper. The Telegraph reports GazetaExpress.
Dr. Elisa Pineda from Imperial College London said implementing controls “is complex and resource-intensive.”
Meanwhile, Liz Webster, founder of the group Save British Farming, said that despite the assurances given by ministers, the deal could bring low-quality meat to consumers.
“We have opened the doors to American meat and ethanol. But our border controls barely function. How we will enforce standards is a mystery,” she wrote in X.
“It's easy to say 'we will only bring good meat'. But there is no mechanism to guarantee that.”
Mark Borthwick from World Animal Protection said: "It is not clear whether Britain has the capacity internally or at the border to check for substandard products. Budget cuts have damaged our ability to provide security."
British farmers are also concerned, mainly about the lack of transparency in American mass production.
Farmer Ian McCubbine from Surrey told BBC Radio 4:
“A ranch in Texas is 19 miles long – how do we know what they’re putting in the meat? We just don’t know.”
A report from the Food Standards Agency in Britain revealed that steroids were detected in a test on imported food products of animal origin during 2022-23.
However, the agency did not disclose the country of origin or the specific substance found.
The British government has insisted that controls to prevent the introduction of such meat are sufficient.
Darren Jones, Treasury Secretary, told the Today Programme:
"Companies, whether in the US or other parts of the world, know that if they try to export hormone-treated meat, it's breaking the law."
"Are there controls? Yes. Are there consequences for violations? Yes," he added.
Currently, US beef imports account for just 0.05% of all beef entering Britain – far less than Ireland (76%) or Australia (3%).
But the US wants that to change with the new trade deal.
US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said that meat imports "will increase significantly" thanks to this agreement.
Hormones aren't the only issue of concern for American meat.
Another is ammonium hydroxide, a detergent used in some American meat products.
Known as "pink slime," this product is created by processing meat waste in a centrifuge and exposing it to ammonia to kill bacteria, before being added to ground meat.
A previous report showed that this ingredient was present in 70% of American hamburgers.
While not a health hazard in itself, the fact that ammonia is required for “cleaning” has raised questions about the conditions in which animals are raised and processed – similar to the debate over chlorinated chicken.
Pink slime is not permitted for human consumption in the UK, but can be used in pet food.
Another concern is the overuse of antibiotics in American meat production.
The excessive use of these drugs has contributed to the emergence of resistant bacteria, which can turn common infections into life-threatening emergencies.
In the US, the massive use of antibiotics in calves is permitted and widespread, unlike Britain, where use is more controlled and medical justification is required.
Chlorinated chicken, another product banned by the British government, will not be part of the deal.
This controversial practice involves cleaning chicken carcasses with chlorine to eliminate bacteria.
Although some experts do not see chlorine as a direct danger in small quantities, criticism focuses on the conditions that require such chemical cleaning.
A 2014 report showed that 97% of chicken breasts in the US contained bacteria like salmonella and E.coli, and half of the samples had at least one type of drug-resistant bacteria.
This practice was banned by the EU in 1997 and the ban continues after Brexit. /Express newspaper/
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