Day 105 - 16 Mar 95 - Page 59
1 the point that it is used for many other things than food
2 safety. It is meant, it is used -- whilst certain people
3 may be of the view that it helps them to verify that the
4 meat is safe, the overriding purpose is to check the
5 overall bacterial condition in relation to keeping quality
6 and as an indicator of general hygiene procedures in the
7 plant from a quality control point of view.
8
9 MS. STEEL: But, apart from specific tests for E.coli and
10 Salmonella, there is no other method that is used?
11 A. No, not of a microbiological nature.
12
13 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Is this right, that it is an indicator of
14 general standards of hygiene in a plant?
15 A. Yes.
16
17 Q. Therefore, by that indirect route, it might be an indicator
18 of food safety?
19 A. Yes, indirectly, clearly, that would be the case.
20
21 MS. STEEL: No further questions.
22
23 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do you have any more questions, Mr. Morris?
24
25 MR. MORRIS: No.
26 ^
27 Re-examined by Mr. Rampton
28
29 Q. Mr. Bennett, just, please, further information: Can
30 I start with what may happen when meat from different
31 carcasses is what I think you say is called "bulk"?
32 A. Yes.
33
34 Q. Where it is certainly possible, I think you accepted, it
35 maybe perfectly obvious, that bacteria from one piece of
36 meat may be transferred to another?
37 A. Yes.
38
39 Q. That is a process which you do not care to describe as
40 contamination, as I understand it?
41 A. That is true.
42
43 Q. Yes, my question is this: Assuming that that happens in
44 conditions which are not apt to encourage proliferation of
45 the bacteria which are so transferred, what, if any, risk
46 to human health do you think that that process of bulking
47 entails?
48 A. Given the proviso, the convention, that the conditions
49 are not conducive to bacterial growth, I would say that the
50 additional public health risk is so small as to be
51 negligible.
52
53 Q. Next, you were asked about the number of Salmonella cases
54 occurring annually, I think, in the population in this
55 country of some 57 and a bit million. You said 30,000
56 cases a year sounded about right?
57 A. Yes.
58
59 Q. You attributed 60 to 70 per cent of those cases to poultry?
60 A. Yes.
