Day 094 - 01 Mar 95 - Page 41


     
     1
     2   Q.   That has introduced training for the workers who are
     3        carrying out the procedure of ---
     4        A.  That is correct.
     5
     6   Q.   -- opening up the cheeks to make the glands visible?
     7        A.  To make what?
     8
     9   Q.   The glands visible for the US DA inspectors?
    10        A.  No, no.  That is not part of -- that is not a critical
    11        control point.  During a HACCP, what you want to focus is
    12        on those critical areas that will have an impact on our
    13        food safety.  When we went through the training (which was
    14        sponsored by us, which we invited and pay for all of the
    15        training for our suppliers) that was not a critical control
    16        point as agreed by the experts in the field.
    17
    18   Q.   So you have helped train, set up the training, for these
    19        workers, did you?
    20        A.  I help develop the process for the training.  I cannot
    21        say I hired, but to our suppliers, I ask him to set up a
    22        process in which I was very involved to develop the
    23        training and implementation of HACCP which had never been
    24        done in the history of beef to that extent.
    25
    26   Q.   Right, but this is not part of HACCP, you are saying?
    27        A.  What I am saying, it is part of HACCP.  What it is not
    28        is a critical control point.  It is not a critical control
    29        point.  HACCP looks from the beginning to the end and
    30        focuses on those critical areas.
    31
    32   Q.   But a year and a half ago -----
    33
    34   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I had undertaken your year-and-half from the
    35        time you became concerned so, rightly or wrongly -- it may
    36        not matter -- it was two-and-a-half of your four years ago;
    37        is that right?
    38        A.  That is correct.
    39
    40   MS. STEEL:  What year was that HACCP programme implemented?
    41        A.  We require our suppliers of abattoirs, if they want, if
    42        they wanted to supply us, we require for them to have an
    43        implemented measurable and verifiable HACCP that would be
    44        verified by our primary suppliers.  That was done about two
    45        years ago.  It took us about a year to fully implement it,
    46        so it has been in operation for about a year.
    47
    48   Q.   So it was during 1993 that that ------
    49        A.  The implementation phase, yes.
    50 
    51   Q.   Prior to that there was not any training for the workers 
    52        carrying out these procedures? 
    53        A.  No, that is incorrect.  There has always been
    54        training.  Montfort has been involved in this prior to our
    55        involvement.  Montfort is just one of the many abattoirs
    56        that we require to have HACCP.
    57
    58   Q.   Do you know whether they do training on that particular
    59        aspect of the process, the opening up of the cheeks?
    60        A.  They have to.  It is part of -- any employee has to be

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