Is this really true about Chickens in the U.S?

[marvelloustime]

Hi all.

I hope you don't mind me asking, but curiosity has finally got the better of me. Lol.

In the U.S, do you really have chlorine washed chicken? 

And if you do, has it harmed you, or are you able to purchase non chlorine washed chicken?

I ask because it's currently a big scare tactic in the UK re; doing a trade deal with the U.S.

Curiosity has led me to ask you if this is all correct. I don't know much about it.

This is a very strange world. 

Let's praise the Lord that as believers we are all one in Jesus, no matter which country on the earth we happen to reside in. Our true citizenship is in Heaven. Praise God.

Becky.

Edited August 14, 2019 by marvelloustime

[enoob57]

All I know is I'm not letting anyone bleach fluffy

[ayin jade]

Chlorinated chicken– or chlorine-washed chicken – simply means that chicken was rinsed with chlorinated water; chlorine is not present in the meat. Just as chlorine helps make drinking water safe, it can help remove potentially harmful bacteria from raw chicken.

Although it has been proven safe, most chicken processing plants have moved away from the use of chlorine as a food safety application during the production process. The National Chicken Council in the United States would estimate that chlorine is used in some rinses and sprays in only about 10% of processing plants in the U.S. Most of the chlorine that is used in the industry is used for cleaning and sanitizing processing equipment.

However, numerous studies and scientific research have confirmed that the use of chlorinated water to chill and clean chicken is safe and effective. Chlorine-washed chicken does not pose any human health concerns and it is not present in the final product.

All chicken produced in the United States is closely monitored and inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

https://www.chickencheck.in/faq/chlorine-washed-chicken/

[mlbrokish]

1 hour ago, marvelloustime said:

In the U.S, do you really have chlorine washed chicken? 

And if you do, has it harmed you, or are you able to purchase non chlorine washed chicken?

I ask because it's currently a big scare tactic in the UK re; doing a trade deal with the U.S.

Curiosity has led me to ask you if this is all correct. I don't know much about it.

This is a very strange world. 

I have never heard of chlorine being used, it may possibly be rumors that have been going around???

Here's a quote from the website, "Chickencheck.in" which explains procedures for processing chickens. 

"As an added measure to further reduce bacteria, water and an organic rinse may be applied to each bird. Any substance used for this purpose is closely regulated by both the USDA and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and has been approved for use in food production.

Research has confirmed that the use of these rinses do not pose human health concerns; rather their use does improve the wholesomeness of finished products. Before this process, which includes chilling the birds to a lower temperature to keep fresh and clean, company quality assurance and food safety personnel inspect them once again for quality, food safety and wholesomeness. They follow strict regulatory and company standards for each bird entering the chilling process."

[Jostler]

unfortunately  it is established practice, not only with  chicken but all meat processing.  carcasses are sprayed with a chlorine solution to reduce  bacterial populations due to the inherently  unsanitary  conditions that arise with  industrial slaughtering  and processing as practiced (and enshrined/approved in the regulatory guidelines)

I'd be MUCH more confident in the sanitation  I could provide field dressing a cow hung from a tree ...outdoors...i wont go into details....but the inside of a US abattoir  is disgusting.

at home I always  gave them a full shampoo bath the day before and i do mean a scrubbing....hooves picked clean and then overnighted  on  a completely cleaned stall with fresh sawdust and straw to keep them clean til it was time.  and they'd already  been fasting a day when they hit the stall so any "additions" they made to their clean stall during the  night  were liquid....not solid.   48  hrs of fasting prior to slaughter makes it a lot easier to handle the  process with out risk of tainting the  meat with fecal matter from the  intestines.

probably TMI...but "industrial" meat production is pretty  horrific from start to  finish here.

[mlbrokish]

51 minutes ago, Jostler said:

unfortunately  it is established practice, not only with  chicken but all meat processing.  carcasses are sprayed with a chlorine solution to reduce  bacterial populations due to the inherently  unsanitary  conditions that arise with  industrial slaughtering  and processing as practiced (and enshrined/approved in the regulatory guidelines)

I'd be MUCH more confident in the sanitation  I could provide field dressing a cow hung from a tree ...outdoors...i wont go into details....but the inside of a US abattoir  is disgusting.

at home I always  gave them a full shampoo bath the day before and i do mean a scrubbing....hooves picked clean and then overnighted  on  a completely cleaned stall with fresh sawdust and straw to keep them clean til it was time.  and they'd already  been fasting a day when they hit the stall so any "additions" they made to their clean stall during the  night  were liquid....not solid.   48  hrs of fasting prior to slaughter makes it a lot easier to handle the  process with out risk of tainting the  meat with fecal matter from the  intestines.

probably TMI...but "industrial" meat production is pretty  horrific from start to  finish here.

Being a dairy farmer, we become too attached to many of our cattle as they all seem to have their own "human-like" personalities.  I understand what you are saying in describing sanitary practices of meat processing, so, for that I appreciate your post. 

We have the USDA inspect our dairy farm for sanitary equipment and such also.  There are many, many guidelines and high standards to be qualified to sell milk that goes into cartons, or into making cheese and yogurt (as ours is used).  

It isn't too far of a stretch to believe that processing poultry would require the highest sanitary conditions possible.  Thanks.

[Jostler]

2 minutes ago, mlbrokish said:

Being a dairy farmer, we become too attached to many of our cattle as they all seem to have their own "human-like" personalities.  I understand what you are saying in describing sanitary practices of meat processing, so, for that I appreciate your post. 

We have the USDA inspect our dairy farm for sanitary equipment and such also.  There are many, many guidelines and high standards to be qualified to sell milk that goes into cartons, or into making cheese and yogurt (as ours is used).  

It isn't too far of a stretch to believe that processing poultry would require the highest sanitary conditions possible.  Thanks.

milk  production is a whole different  kettle of fish than  meat processing.   if you're selling milk for production  of curdled products....well any use really... a producer would be out of business real fast if they  didn't deliver clean milk ready to be inoculated by the  RIGHT bacteria      Dairy  farmers have a very strong incentive to guard milk parlor sanitation  with their very  life   with  or without inspections.   and that  means some care and concern  for sanitation before your  girls ever march into the milking stations.

Meat packing is a totally different world....and much  uglier given the drive  toward speed and lowest possible cost sanitation practices

Home slaughter and processing  doesn't scale and a good full body shampoo  isn't  possible unless the steer is halter broke and used to human handling...even if the time and labor costs didn't prevent it....it would sure make an exciting  show to try  to scrub down a commercially raised steer that had never been handled like that before    might be able to sell tickets to  that  show and recoup some of the cost....if you could find people brave and foolish enough to accept the  job

And yeah...the  halter broke ones are not at all fun to put in the freezer....you might  have to shed a tear for the steaks...it is a lot like slaughtering a pet....they do have more personality than  many might  think and you do get attached to them.  My last project was a Brown Swiss but I ended up selling her at a show before she dropped her first calf.  I swore if I ever saw a woman with  big brown eyes like that heifer had I was sunk for life.  And I did leak a little while the buyer was loading her in  his trailer.....she used to play with me like a dog would.   I  grew up near Dallas but had a very blessed experience of both suburban and farm life between FFA and relatives that farmed and raised cattle in NW Oklahoma i got to work for during summers growing up.

[mlbrokish]

18 minutes ago, Jostler said:

a good full body shampoo  isn't  possible unless the steer is halter broke and used to human handling...even if the time and labor costs didn't prevent it....it would sure make an exciting  show to try  to scrub down a commercially raised steer that had never been handled like that before    might be able to sell tickets to  that  show and recoup some of the cost....if you could find people brave and foolish enough to accept the  job

I can DEFINITELY visualize what you are saying, as even some Holsteins that are used to human handling can be extremely uptight when washed down with water or just being groomed in any way. It's highly unlikely that steers would be any calmer.  May be a fun show to watch, as you say, as long as the human doesn't get kicked or trampled down.

 

25 minutes ago, Jostler said:

And yeah...the  halter broke ones are not at all fun to put in the freezer....you might  have to shed a tear for the steaks...it is a lot like slaughtering a pet....they do have more personality than  many might  think and you do get attached to them.  My last project was a Brown Swiss but I ended up selling her at a show before she dropped her first calf.  I swore if I ever saw a woman with  big brown eyes like that heifer had I was sunk for life.  And I did leak a little while the buyer was loading her in  his trailer.....she used to play with me like a dog would.   I  grew up near Dallas but had a very blessed experience of both suburban and farm life between FFA and relatives that farmed and raised cattle in NW Oklahoma i got to work for during summers growing up.

there's been several that have been trucked out of here that my husband won't be near when they come to load her up.  I still get choked up thinking of when my daughter's favorite show cow had to go and I heard her let out that hollow beller that was her distinct voice as the trailer pulled away.  

Also, my other daughter stopped eating beef the day that her first cow had to go to slaughter.  We don't bug her about it, but we know why.

Thanks... It's nice to talk cattle with others sometimes, especially when family farmers are dwindling these days. 

[Sower]

5 hours ago, Jostler said:

Meat packing is a totally different world....and much  uglier given the drive  toward speed and lowest possible cost sanitation practices

As a teenager I used to work as an electrician in the sixties, and often it was at the stockyards, in San Antonio Texas.
If you want to see/taste/smell putrid, take a tour of the rendering plant.
I had to often climb up a very long conveyor system to reach the drive motors to service or replace.
These conveyors were not cleaned for maintenance, so all the blood and guts became very slippery,
and without doubt, there were a bazillion fly's, making it difficult to even see.
And this was considered a clean room compared to the leather tanning plant.
I'm sure the sanitation process has been improved since.
But I decided to become a carpenter...........

PS;
Though not really ranchers, we always ran cattle on our place, but for table beef,
I would pick up new  born dairy bulls for really cheap (can't milk bulls :)
They, being new born, required instant feeding, and the girls were old enough
to bottle feed them, and then calf manna. (Jersey bulls just don't fatten, no matter all the corn)
Knowing the sentimental attachments would form, we gave them names,like
Sir Loin, and Mister Tee Bone etc. A butcher friend with my help did the slaughtering and packing
at his butcher shop, so the girls were spared that. (I would/could never be a butcher!!!)

[Michael37]

1 hour ago, Godismyloveforever said:

Want to be my friend, Fluffy? I will share my popcorn with you.

??

I've seen chickens loitering on the road. Is no-one training them to cross and move on these days?