The U.K. government has insisted that American hormone-treated meat will not be allowed into the U.K. market, following the trade deal between the two countries, announced May 8, which boosts the trade in beef in both directions, reports BBC News.

The government said maintaining U.K. food standards had been a strict red line during the negotiations, and that certification procedures and border checks would prevent beef raised with hormones from entering the U.K.

"The rules on food standards have not changed and they will not change" as a result of the deal, said Darren Jones, chief secretary to the Treasury, and that the agencies responsible for checks would be able to test meat for traces of hormone with "consequences" for anyone breaking the law.

Many American farmers use growth hormones as a standard part of their beef production, to add muscle mass, and make beef cheaper. The U.K. stopped allowing hormone-produced beef in 1989, when the practice was banned across the EU, which declared it unsafe. 

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Under the terms of the trade deal, the U.K. has agreed to allow up to 13,000 metric tonnes of beef imports from the U.S. tariff-free. Currently the U.S. exports around 1,000 tonnes to the U.K. with a 20% tariff. In exchange, the U.K. will also be able to sell more beef to the U.S. than it currently does, also up to 13,000 tonnes at a lower tariff than at present.