Day 094 - 01 Mar 95 - Page 15
1 A. That is correct.
2
3 Q. It is more likely to be round 20?
4 A. Yes, it could be.
5
6 Q. So the general range is around 20?
7 A. How many times do I have to tell you what the range is?
8
9 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is fair enough, you know. I do not know
10 where it will take me at the end of the day, but all you
11 are being asked is whether 20 would be more typical than
12 three?
13 A. OK, yes, phrased that way, yes.
14
15 MS. STEEL: Is it not right that in actual fact you are relying
16 on the US DA inspectors and, in fact, they actually are
17 saying that thousands of birds contaminated or stained with
18 faeces are shipped every day instead of being condemned?
19 A. I am sorry. You are totally wrong. I do not know
20 where you get that from.
21
22 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Where do you get that from?
23
24 MS. STEEL: This report. The report that was handed in
25 yesterday -- I did not mention the name of it.
26
27 MR. RAMPTON: No, that is not the point.
28
29 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You have to put it as a question which I can
30 follow, you see. Just let us all pause there for a moment.
31 You see, you declare as part of what was meant to be a
32 question that US DA inspectors are saying that thousands of
33 birds contaminated or stained with faeces are shipped every
34 day instead of being condemned.
35
36 MS. STEEL: Yes.
37
38 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Let us put it as a question.
39 (To the witness): Is that right, that US DA inspectors say
40 that, to your knowledge?
41 A. No, they might say that. I would not be surprised if
42 they do; there is a battle, if we can call it that, between
43 inspectors' union and the government. The inspectors want
44 to keep their jobs. They want to increase the number of
45 inspectors in plant just because they want to keep a job.
46 The government is saying it does not add value. We relied
47 on our HACCP programmes which is far better and is
48 recognised around the world as the best system there is.
49 We are as good as anybody else in the world when it comes
50 to good inspection by implementing HACCP and by having the
51 control suppliers for chickens.
52
53 Faecal contamination, there is a regulation in the US.
54 There is zero tolerance for that. If an inspector is
55 saying that millions of chickens are, or even one is going
56 and he sees that, and it is going with faecal
57 contamination, he is not doing his job. If he is not doing
58 his job, he should be fired. That is his responsibility
59 and he has the authority to stop the line and condemn those
60 animals.
