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In the early 90's, an outbreak of e-coli swept the United States, leading to mass hospitalisations and even deaths. This was followed shortly afterwards by an outbreak of salmonella that caused similar havoc, and the fingers all pointed back to factory farming methods, and the lax standards that were followed, as well as corporate pressure to meet targets rather than ensure safety. But the outbreak was not confined merely to the meat industry, but also to other unlikely sources, including green food such as salad.
One of the 'Brexit Benefits' hailed to many of the population was a trade deal on food with the United States, which was countered with their use of 'chlorinated chicken', and the unhygienic methods employed in the U. S. industry in comparison to the more regulated European model. To date, that appears to have been averted, however this documentary from writer Jeff Benedict and director Stephanie Soechtig casts a more unnerving spectre on the food we consume on a daily basis in general.
If the dodgy practices of the food companies whose bottom line is to make a buck are unsurprising, you'd like to think the regulatory agencies whose primary role is to keep the public safe would be reliable, but as Soechtig's documentary unravels, it's hard to decipher which one is which, or which department is even responsible for what. A certification of safety from any agency is revealed as no guarantee of safety, leaving an even more unsettling feeling in the stomach.
A short, sharp stab at an industry geared to a specific human need, Soechtig's film reveals itself as further proof that Netflix can still pull a decent documentary out the bag when it needs to. ****
