British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told US Vice President Mike Pence that London has little taste for American chlorinated chicken, referring to one of his most staunch opponents in the UK Parliament and one of his post-Brexit concerns at the same time.
"We're not too keen on your chlorinated chicken - we have a gigantic chlorinated chicken of our own here on the opposition benches", he said.
Johnson also used the term yesterday, calling opposition leader Jeremy Corbin "the only chlorinated chicken [in the UK]" in a double-jab referring simultaneously to the Labour head's concerns about a trade agreement with the US and his alleged "cowardice" to pressure the EU on Brexit talks as well as to allow the pull-out on 31 October without a deal.
American poultry has been banned from the EU for decades over concerns that it doesn't correspond to European quality standards, namely in terms of the use of chlorine in its production. In light of recent conflicts with Brussels over trade, Washington has been trying to avert the ban and some Brexit opponents fear London might agree to that concession in order to secure the trade deal with the US after leaving the EU and its binding regulations.
Chlorine is often used to clean the slaughtered poultry, such as chicken, of possible pathogens, such as salmonella, instead of maintaining birds' hygiene throughout their growth and stay in abattoirs.