Day 068 - 16 Dec 94 - Page 27
1 Take a moment, if you like, to think about it, but come to
2 the point you want to put. For all I know, if it is a good
3 point, Dr. Gomez Gonzales will agree with it straightaway.
4
5 MR. MORRIS: So what are the specifications they have to adhere
6 to that separates the meat for your line?
7 A. They have to identify it. We start from the farms. We
8 have identified the area, that is the dry forest; so within
9 that area there are ranches that the meat will come from.
10 They will come with a number. That number goes with the
11 animal, and that number goes with the lot of cattle that
12 will arrive at that particular place. So they have to
13 track that part.
14
15 When they enter that facility, that tag goes with the
16 animal, with the cuts. We have the process, so that at the
17 end we can identify where the meat came from all the way to
18 that particular farm. We identify -- they are well aware
19 of our product specifications, our raw materials
20 specifications. I have had numerous visits with them in
21 terms of Q and A, our needs, looking at records,
22 processing, what type of materials not to be used for our
23 products, what they should use, what proportions -- I could
24 go on and on and on. Can you be a little more specific?
25
26 Q. How do you know that they are adhering to your
27 specifications?
28 A. They have records. We have numerous people that will
29 visit the plant; mostly our local people.
30
31 Q. McDonald's people?
32 A. That is correct.
33
34 MR. MORRIS: Coming on to the rainforest issue: on
35 rainforests, what is your specifications relevant to
36 rainforests?
37
38 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, this is really intolerable. He has spent
39 the last half hour asking about equipment and the number of
40 times they make hamburgers in a week. Mr. Morris asked
41 Dr. Gomez Gonzales what the rainforest specification was
42 yesterday, and he gave it verbatim, without even looking at
43 the document.
44
45 MR. MORRIS: Can you repeat that just for my benefit, then?
46 A. That we do not and that we will not use beef that comes
47 from the rainforest or recently deforested areas.
48
49 Q. What region -- you said the dry forest area, and yesterday
50 you said Guanacaste. Is that the same?
51 A. That is correct.
52
53 Q. So does that mean that you will not accept any beef outside
54 the Guanacaste area?
55 A. No. What it implies is that we will not use beef from
56 what is determined as "the rainforest". We made that
57 determination with the Minister of Agriculture, with
58 ecologists, and we draw up a plan and identified that
59 area. There are requirements and definitions for the term
60 "rainforest", in terms of how much rain they get. We
