Day 107 - 24 Mar 95 - Page 54
1 Q. That is right?
2 A. This is true.
3
4 Q. Thus if a McNugget should leave Sun Valley or its sister
5 company in France, or a hamburger should leave McKey's, in
6 circumstances where the bacterial population have not been
7 given the chance to multiply dramatically, there is, so
8 long as it is not abused between that stage and
9 consumption, no risk no serious risk of food poisoning at
10 all, is there?
11 A. In my opinion, there is not.
12
13 Q. Penultimately, page 114 in this book, the first complete
14 paragraph at the top of the page beginning "Contained"?
15 A. Yes.
16
17 Q. "Contained by the body's natural mechanisms controlled or
18 cooked, most of the potentially dangerous bacteria
19 associated with food are rendered harmless. Salmonella
20 from the gut of a chicken only becomes dangerous to men
21 when it is transferred, usually at the food preparation
22 stage, from the gut to other parts of the flesh where it
23 can multiply, even so cooking will destroy it".
24
25 So, am I right, essentially two things have to happen:
26 There has got to be an opportunity for multiplication or
27 proliferation, and then there has got to be inefficient
28 cooking?
29 A. Ordinarily, yes. If you would like me to qualify it?
30
31 Q. Perhaps I can suggest a possible exception. The thing has
32 been cooked at the proper temperature. It did not have a
33 lot of bacteria in it or on it in the first place, and
34 somebody contaminates it afterwards?
35 A. There are elements which came to light with poultry
36 particularly -----
37
38 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I suggest you do, apart from allowing
39 them to multiply and bad cooking, you enumerate the extra
40 qualifications which you were going to suggest. I am not
41 suggesting you go into detail, but tell us what they are?
42 A. One is that under certain circumstances in poultry
43 meat, the initial dose can be from the contaminated chicken
44 at slaughter, can be so high that multiplication is not
45 required.
46
47 MR. RAMPTON: I am going to come back to that, if I may.
48
49 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I suggest is, if we hear the
50 modifications which Mr. North wanted to give and then come
51 back to them. So the initial dose can be so high, yes?
52 A. That multiplication is not required.
53
54 Q. Any others?
55 A. And, of course, the qualification in cooking is that it
56 should be adequate cooking.
57
58 MR. RAMPTON: I said ineffectively cooking.
59
60 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Any others? What was being put to you and
