"Dirty" meat found in U.S. plants highlights risk to British consumers

LONDON, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Shocking hygiene violations in U.S. meat production have been revealed this week, with a new analysis indicating about 15 percent of Americans suffer from foodborne illnesses annually.

A joint investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) and The Guardian found "deeply worrying" hygiene failings in 47 American meat plants producing poultry, beef and pork products.

The failings include breaches relating to the contamination of carcasses, inadequate cleaning and insanitary conditions.

The "dirty" meat could flood into Britain if strict standards aren't maintained after Brexit. Food safety campaigners are calling for a change in the law, which currently allows meat with salmonella to be sold.

The findings highlight, for the first time, the widespread bad practices in some of the U.S. meat plants as well as the potential risks to British consumers.

"British consumers must not be tantalized by offers of notionally cheaper U.S. or international meat. Cheap meat isn't cheap. The lamentable figures in this study remind us that big plants generate big problems when they go wrong," Tim Lang, professor of food policy at London's City University, said.

The documents revealed by the TBIJ and The Guardian don't show the entire number of non-compliance reports across the whole sector. Thousands of similar violations were recorded at 10 pork-producing plants over a five-year period until 2016, according to further documents.

The U.S. meat giant JBS said in a statement that all the incidents highlighted at their plants were addressed immediately and that no consumers were put at risk. Enditem