Day 086 - 09 Feb 95 - Page 50
1 problem, in Preston 1991?
2 A. Sorry, if I in 1991 was informed of that question?
3
4 Q. Yes, and it was thought, rightly or wrongly, that during
5 busy period certain parts of the grill were cooler than
6 McDonald's standards, and that that was responsible for
7 under-cooking of burgers leading to an outbreak of food
8 poisoning, you are merely being asked, if all that was so,
9 would that help you to focus on a potential area for
10 concern or danger?
11 A. I think that would be most welcome to have that pointed
12 out to us, if that hypothetical situation was in place.
13
14 MR. MORRIS: Do you know of any memo sent out after this report
15 was published, 25th June 1991, or after the Preston
16 incident itself in January 1991, which alerted managers,
17 supervisors or others in positions of responsibility to the
18 possibility of hazard from varying temperatures on the
19 grill?
20 A. I do not know of any off the top of my head now, no.
21
22 Q. Have you ever seen a memo like that?
23 A. That warns us of hazards of cooking meat?
24
25 Q. To warn about the hazard of the varying temperatures on a
26 grill?
27 A. Not hazards of varying temperatures, no.
28
29 Q. Or potential hazards?
30 A. Even potential hazards of varying temperatures.
31
32 Q. If such a memo had been sent out, you would have seen it?
33 A. I would have seen it. Whether I would have remembered
34 it three or four years later is another matter.
35
36 Q. Does any of your current equipment have grills with varying
37 temperatures?
38 A. Could you clarify what you mean by "varying
39 temperatures"?
40
41 Q. Where the temperature on the grill is not 100 per cent
42 uniform but may vary depending on exactly which part of the
43 grill the food is placed?
44 A. The grill will vary in temperature across the surface
45 and it varies in temperature while you are cooking food on
46 it. So, yes, there are varying temperatures on the grill
47 surface.
48
49 MS. STEEL: You said, or you seem to imply, that these three
50 incidents were the only incidents of food poisoning that
51 have occurred at McDonald's?
52 A. I think I said they were the only three that you have
53 raised.
54
55 Q. That we have raised. What other ones are you aware of?
56 A. I am aware from time to time that we will get a contact
57 from a customer that suggests they have had food poisoning
58 at McDonald's.
59
60 Q. Right. How often does that occur?
