Day 061 - 05 Dec 94 - Page 70


     
     1        animal.
     2        A.  No, this is Food Product Specification.
     3
     4   MS. STEEL:  OK, thank you.  Do you actually have any
     5        specifications about welfare at all or not?
     6        A.  Well, we have -- we have not got all the specifications
     7        here -- but we have certainly have statements which do
     8        include slaughter conditions and processing conditions.
     9
    10   Q.   What, written statements?
    11        A.  Well, I think if you go back to, if you go to page 20,
    12        you will see there:  "Must be slaughtered and processed
    13        under USDA inspection" in this particular case.
    14
    15   Q.   That is not necessarily a specifically reference to
    16        welfare, is it, because USDA inspection refers to hygiene
    17        and things like that?
    18        A.  And welfare and slaughtering.
    19
    20   Q.   Yes, but there no specific specifications about the welfare
    21        of animals?
    22        A.  There are no specific specifications about the welfare
    23        of animals from McDonald's, but there would be from the
    24        finished product suppliers.
    25
    26   Q.   Right, OK.
    27
    28   MR. MORRIS:  Your company is concerned about, No. 1, the health
    29        of its customers; is that correct?
    30        A.  Yes.
    31
    32   Q.   As you know, there was the Preston food poisoning
    33        incidents?
    34        A.  Yes, I am aware.
    35
    36   Q.   There was a review, I believe, of suppliers' practices and
    37        looking back into the chain, following that to see if you
    38        could improve upon the checking systems after that; is that
    39        correct?
    40        A.  Yes.
    41
    42   Q.   Yes.  If you link that up also with concerns about, say,
    43        BSE ---
    44        A.  Yes.
    45
    46   Q.   -- that are being expressed now, how do you know where your
    47        animals come from in terms of farms if you do not check the
    48        farms?
    49        A.  If we do not check the farms?
    50 
    51   Q.   You said that you do not the farms. 
    52        A.  We, McDonald's, do not; our suppliers would -- McKey in 
    53        this case would.
    54
    55   Q.   So do they go physically to the farms?
    56        A.  Oh, yes, yes, and to the cattle markets and to the
    57        abattoirs.
    58
    59   Q.   Has McDonald's had any say over what McKey's practices are?
    60        Did you say to them:  "This is what you have got to do" or

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