Day 105 - 16 Mar 95 - Page 48


     
     1
     2   MR. MORRIS:  There was either no sample taken or there was a
     3        sample above seven degrees and it was not logged?
     4        A.  There are various possibilities as to why there is no
     5        entry on those dates, one of which could be that they had
     6        an early day for boning out the beef.  I do not think that
     7        document is dated, is it?
     8
     9   MR. RAMPTON:  It is 31st October.
    10
    11   MR. MORRIS:  If we go on to page 62, is this part of HACCP, this
    12        form?
    13        A.  This form is, so far as product traceability goes, but
    14        it is a very much more long standing form and part and
    15        parcel of the whole production operation.  The carcass
    16        record form, because it records weights, it records who has
    17        supplied it from a particular farm and, therefore, is
    18        related to the farmer getting paid for his cattle and,
    19        therefore, it is a long standing and well-established form.
    20
    21   Q.   What is the situation with the age column?
    22        A.  That is not completed because, obviously, in this case
    23        it is not of great relevance to the payments.  That record
    24        will be made elsewhere.  If you look at the left-hand
    25        column, the producer ear tag number identifies the
    26        particular animal.
    27
    28   Q.   Is that because, as you say, the age is not important so it
    29        is not logged?
    30        A.  It is not important in respect of paying for the
    31        animal.  The ear tag number will tell you all you need to
    32        know about the animal, whether it is a heifer, a steer, a
    33        cow, a butcher's cow, and the classification will also give
    34        you some guide on that score.
    35
    36   Q.   If it is not important, why was it felt important to put it
    37        on the form?
    38        A.  There are ways and mysteries of form design are
    39        something I am not an expert on, but columns on forms do
    40        fall into disuse, in my general experience.
    41
    42   Q.   So what does a cross mean on those forms then?
    43        A.  Those are carcasses which are identified as passing
    44        through to the boning room.
    45
    46   Q.   In the age column?
    47        A.  Yes.
    48
    49   Q.   So the ones not crossed did not go to the boning room?
    50        A.  We can take it that is the case here. 
    51 
    52   Q.   What relevance has that got in terms of payment to a 
    53        supplier?
    54        A.  Well, the supplier is only interested in what his
    55        carcass weighs when it crosses the scale in the
    56        slaughterhouse, the farmer, that is.  He is not
    57        particularly interested in what happens to it after that.
    58
    59   Q.   So what is the relevance of whether it reaches the boning
    60        room got to do with anything?

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