Brussels, 08/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - Speaking through her spokesman, Lutz Güllner, Catherine Ashton deplores the United States' decision of Thursday 8 October to call on the WTO panel to settle its long-lasting dispute with the EU over chlorine-rinsed poultry, European imports of which have been banned since 1999. This dispute is not the most appropriate way to resolve such a complex problem, the European trade commissioner states in a press release, going on to add, however, that “since the US has chosen this path, we will defend our food safety legislation, which does not discriminate against imported products”. Washington, which had filed a complaint at the WTO against the EU in January, called on the multilateral trade body to form a group of experts to settle the matter given that negotiations with the Europeans had failed on this matter, US Foreign Trade Representative Ron Kirk had said a little earlier. The US Administration challenges Community rules on hygiene and marketing of poultry, whereby slaughter houses must use only water or other approved substances for rinsing meat products, in order to reduce bacterial contamination (anti-microbial treatment, or AMT). Applying to all meat-based products, whether imported or not, which are sold in the EU, this rule is one of the elements of a broader legislative arsenal that ensures a high level of food safety throughout the food chain, from farm to table, the European Commission points out. The United States has submitted requests for the approval of certain substances used on its territory for the cleansing of poultry carcasses. These substances are mainly chlorine based, but the EU rejected approval of the substances in 2008. EU imports of US poultry have been marginal since 1997, when several American establishments that did not comply with Community norms were withdrawn from the EU list of authorised slaughterhouses. In 2008, the EU imported over 890,000 tonnes of poultry from third countries, mainly Brazil and Thailand. (E.H./transl.jl)