Day 105 - 16 Mar 95 - Page 34
1 my certain knowledge that in August 1993 when I attended
2 the site that there were tests being carried out by Bristol
3 Laboratories at that time.
4
5 MR. MORRIS: If we go to page 12 -- sorry, before I ask you
6 about that, the temperatures when they arrive at McKey's,
7 they do not reject all the meat over four degrees, do they?
8 A. I cannot answer for what McKey's do on their site.
9 What I said to you was that I have known meat to be sent
10 back because it was out of temperature. Clearly, I have
11 not visited a McKey's depot in fact and, apart from these
12 records here, I have not seen the records and I am not
13 competent to comment on what decisions they make.
14
15 Q. These records here show meat arriving at McKey as 4.8
16 degrees and still being accepted.
17 A. I would consider that to be a reasonable judgment at
18 4.8 degrees remembering that ----
19
20 Q. But it shows they do not impose their so-called
21 specifications, does it not?
22 A. It is up to them, I would say, to decide on the day
23 what is within the specification. I think that they make a
24 management decision.
25
26 Q. Is that the kind of same attitude that permeates the
27 abattoir as well, that if things go outside the
28 specifications and guidelines, basically, you can take it
29 or leave it, depending on how you feel at the time?
30 A. The attitude that permeates the abattoir is that they
31 wish to do their job correctly.
32
33 Q. They did not chill the "detained" and "condemned" room for
34 seven years, even though it was a statutory requirement.
35
36 MR. RAMPTON: No, my Lord. That is completely wrong. I happen
37 to have copy of the Regulations here. They did not come in
38 force until 1st January 1993.
39
40 THE WITNESS: Could I add that when the meat is in the detention
41 room -----
42
43 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Your underlining point may or may not be a
44 good one, but it was not a statutory requirement, he said.
45
46 MR. MORRIS: It was directive or requirement.
47
48 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, not a statutory requirement, which is
49 why I asked to see if my recollection of what the
50 relationship between directives and domestic law, whether
51 it was right or not. Whether it is right, I do not know;
52 Mr. Bennett thinks it is.
53
54 THE WITNESS: If could I add ----
55
56 MR. MORRIS: So, something is not a ----
57 A. In a detention room which is locked and the key is in
58 the possession of the meat inspectors, that meat is in the
59 possession of the enforcement authorities. To that extent,
60 Jarretts have no control over it. The enforcement
