Day 104 - 15 Mar 95 - Page 65
1 questions asked this afternoon I have now rather more than
2 two questions.
3
4 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Is there anyone who cannot sit on a little
5 later if need be?
6
7 MR. RAMPTON: I certainly can.
8
9 MR. JUSTICE BELL: If you are in difficulty, I think having
10 reached this stage, probably Ms. Steel can hold the fort
11 unless she has to get off very promptly as well. You will
12 get your transcript in due course of anything you miss.
13
14 MR. MORRIS: Believe it or not it is because my son's heater at
15 school has broken down. He is actually staying with
16 relatives at the moment.
17
18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: We will start again at 5 past 4.
19
20 (Short Adjournment).
21
22 MR. MORRIS: Have you ever looked into the potential for
23 pesticide residues in chicken feed to be transferred into
24 humans?
25 A. Yes, we have looked at that and we do have a testing
26 programme which is part of our quality control programme
27 for feed and also for a requirement for our suppliers.
28
29 Q. What have you found in fact?
30 A. We have found no evidence of pesticide residues in feed
31 ingredients.
32
33 Q. So you mean the chicken feed that you get does not have
34 pesticide residues in it?
35 A. That is correct.
36
37 Q. You use barley wheat, soya and a number of other plant
38 foods?
39 A. Yes.
40
41 Q. And none of those are grown with pesticide?
42 A. Certainly agro-chemicals are used on those to grow
43 those crops. What we do not find is residues of them in
44 the raw material that we use for our feed.
45
46 Q. Are you saying they are below the acceptable levels or they
47 just do not exist?
48 A. Well, we have found no evidence for them existing.
49
50 Q. Would you accept that the process for a chicken being
51 caught put into crowded drawers, transported for a couple
52 of hours in those drawers, possibly left for three hours in
53 a yard in those drawers, then caught once more and hung
54 upside-down by the legs before reaching the stunner as a
55 process for a bird is cruel?
56 A. I do not accept that it is cruel.
57
58 Q. On what grounds is it not cruel in your view then?
59
60 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think it is difficult with a negative and
