Day 096 - 03 Mar 95 - Page 53


     
     1        A.  Approximately, I would have said with us again about
     2        half a per cent.
     3
     4   Q.   Half a per cent.  You said before, I believe, only one per
     5        cent are actually checked by vets?
     6        A.  No, I do not recall that.
     7
     8   Q.   I might have got that wrong?
     9        A.  No, definitely no.  Every single animal going through
    10        our plant is checked by six meat inspectors and one vet.
    11
    12   Q.   I can check that anyway.  What are the main causes of
    13        rejection of the carcass then?
    14        A.  Again, you can have pleurisy, you can have things like
    15        anaemia, you can have a cyst in the kidney, you can have
    16        the liver condemned as well because of worms that they will
    17        pick up on outdoor production, etc.  There are a multiple
    18        of things.
    19
    20   Q.   You mentioned in your evidence-in-chief something about
    21        abscesses in the spinal column; is that something that is
    22        quite -----
    23        A.  Yes, you can also have that as well.
    24
    25   Q.   It is not unusual in terms of a cause of carcass being
    26        rejected?
    27        A.  You can have that, yes, but it is not frequent, but it
    28        is not unusual.
    29
    30   Q.   The main cause of that is the tail biting, yes?
    31        A.  Yes.
    32
    33   Q.   We are finishing bits and pieces off.
    34
    35   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Why do you not sit down?
    36
    37   MR. MORRIS:  I am all right.  (To the witness):  Just one thing
    38        you mentioned in evidence-in-chief:  You said that the
    39        carcass is quick chilled in 50 minutes down to minus 27
    40        degrees?
    41        A.  No, that is the air temperature of the chill room.
    42
    43   Q.   The minus 27 degrees is the area of the chill room?
    44        A.  Yes.
    45
    46   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It was brought down and you had this
    47        equalisation period or whatever you called it?
    48        A.  That is correct, yes.  You are becoming an expert, sir.
    49
    50   MR. MORRIS:  So the carcass equalises to two or three degrees 
    51        centigrade, you said? 
    52        A.  Correct. 
    53
    54   Q.   For most of that 50 minutes the carcass, of course, is much
    55        higher than the two to three degrees centigrade, if it
    56        finishes at that temperature?
    57        A.  Why, yes, you have outside crust that will be down to
    58        zero or a bit below and then internally that can be, you
    59        know, 15, 18 degrees.
    60

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