Day 097 - 06 Mar 95 - Page 75


     
     1        where somebody was able to see a patch of contamination
     2        maybe from some faeces or something?
     3        A.  Yes.
     4
     5   Q.   What would you do about that?  That is the first question.
     6        A.  It is trimmed at the end of the slaughter line.  That
     7        would be hopefully trimmed off.  It is also checked over
     8        prior to going into the boning hall.
     9
    10   Q.   Checked over by what means?
    11        A.  Visually checked and if there is anything remaining
    12        there we hope to trim it off at that point.
    13
    14   Q.   Then the other thing I think you are telling us about is
    15        the general procedure of cleanliness, hygiene and
    16        sterilization between animals?
    17        A.  Yes.
    18
    19   Q.   Is that a routine, do you think, or supposed to be?
    20        A.  Yes.
    21
    22   Q.   Is there somebody that checks that the employees are doing
    23        what they are supposed to do?
    24        A.  Like with everything, it is policed, if you like, by
    25        the meat inspectors and veterinarians on the site and by
    26        myself.
    27
    28   Q.   How many hours a day do you actually spend in the
    29        slaughterhouse do you think?
    30        A.  That varies a lot.  Some days I will not go in there at
    31        all.  Other days I might be in their half a day depending
    32        on who I am with and what I am doing.
    33
    34   Q.   I think you said you have had this particular job for some
    35        years now anyway, five years or something?
    36        A.  Yes.
    37
    38   Q.   How often have you come across, how often do you come
    39        across, what I might call failures in procedures, some
    40        employee who is falling down -- I am talking now about food
    41        hygiene -- on the job in some way or another?
    42        A.  It depends on whether you mean sort of a gross error of
    43        some kind.
    44
    45   Q.   Take, for example, you might be standing watching and an
    46        employee might fail to sterilize his knife or whatever it
    47        is between one carcass and the next.  What would happen
    48        then?
    49        A.  If it was me personally I would tell him to make sure
    50        he did it properly in future. 
    51 
    52   Q.   Would that be regarded as trivial, minor or major or what? 
    53        A.  Depending on where in the line that was that would be
    54        fairly minor.
    55
    56   Q.   The evisceration you say is done mechanically or is it the
    57        hiding that is done mechanically?
    58        A.  The hiding is done mechanically.
    59
    60   Q.   How is the evisceration done?  Is that manual or automatic?

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