Day 079 - 27 Jan 95 - Page 54
1 A. What, of E.coli?
2
3 Q. Yes.
4 A. No. We would not let any burger go out into the
5 McDonald's distribution chain until it was cleared of not
6 having E.coli.
7
8 Q. So, what is the fastest that your line moves from the combo
9 arriving? The combo of frozen beef arrives at the back
10 door, whatever, it is chilled, fresh chilled, partly
11 frozen, and then it gets blended, squashed, turned into
12 patties and is out the other door, how long does that take?
13 A. To blend is maximum of 12 and a half minutes; to freeze
14 it is about three minutes; to pack it is 10 minutes.
15 I mean, in an ideal fast situation it would be about 20
16 minutes of that meat coming in the door and being a frozen
17 burger. But that burger does not leave the factory; that
18 frozen burger is held in the factory. We always hold two
19 weeks stock and it moves out on a FIFO system.
20
21 MS. STEEL: Earlier when you said about the unsatisfactory
22 bacteria count, it was too late to stop it from going out
23 in the system?
24 A. The point I was making then is the term
25 "unsatisfactory" is relative. It is a McDonald's standard
26 count. McDonald's set the count. Maybe "unsatisfactory"
27 is the wrong word, but it is the word that everybody in
28 McDonald's knows. It might be unsatisfactory, but it is
29 not dangerous, it is not poisonous; it is unsatisfactory to
30 McDonald's standards. McDonald's is always striving
31 continually to get the best standards possible in food.
32
33 Q. But what is the point of having a standard of something
34 that is unsatisfactory if you are going to supply the
35 product anyway?
36 A. My Lord, I am trying to explain the relative point of
37 the description "unsatisfactory". It does not mean it is
38 dangerous or poisonous.
39
40 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No, I understand. What it means is, as
41 I understand it and tell me if I am wrong, that it is there
42 as a guide to keep your supplier up to the mark.
43 A. Quite right, sir.
44
45 Q. At least in part?
46 A. Yes, sir.
47
48 Q. Because if you get a second lot you want to know what for?
49 A. Precisely, sir. It is not dangerous. It is probably a
50 bad word to use in a quality control document, but it has
51 always been used. It does not mean that it is poisonous or
52 dangerous or anything like that. It is unsatisfactory to
53 McKey, McDonald's standards.
54
55 MS. STEEL: But why do McDonald's set a standard -- why do they
56 say it is unsatisfactory to have more than 10 million
57 bacteria per gramme, if they are then prepared to accept it
58 as long it does not continue the next time around? What is
59 the point in setting that?
60 A. Well, I thought that with the help of his Lordship we
