Day 111 - 30 Mar 95 - Page 35


     
     1        a situation where the bacteria are allowed circumstances
     2        where they can very easily proliferate and the
     3        contamination can, even under chilling conditions, happen,
     4        because we are talking about two wet surfaces that touch.
     5        It is very difficult for the cool air to get in there and
     6        chill the carcass rapidly enough.  We are also talking
     7        about a situation where allows the pathogenic bacteria to
     8        penetrate the muscle again where it is out of sight and we
     9        cannot really deal with it.
    10
    11   Q.   Why is that?  Is that because the moisture goes into the
    12        crevices?
    13        A.  The moisture is necessary for bacterial growth.  One
    14        way of preserving meat, for example, is drying it. It is
    15        actually a very efficient way of preserving meat, much more
    16        efficient than chilling.  Basically, we have now come to
    17        the chiller areas.  You can see the first chill.  It is
    18        called "chill" on the picture here.  In the trade, we
    19        usually call them "chillers", "carcass chillers".  The
    20        carcass chillers, I cannot remember how many of them they
    21        had at Jarretts; I think there were either three, or two or
    22        four, I am not quite sure.
    23
    24        These chillers, the biggest problem with the chillers was
    25        basically, apart from the fact that surface materials had
    26        deteriorated to a point where they were in need of urgent
    27        repair, my biggest worry was really the fact that the
    28        carcasses were overfilled and the chilling was not done in
    29        an efficient or statutory manner.  This obviously led to
    30        the situation we had after the chillers.  The carcasses
    31        were not chilled.
    32
    33   Q.   You said they were "overfilled"?
    34        A.  They were overfilled, yes.
    35
    36   Q.   You mean the chillers were overfilled.
    37        A.  Yes, and this led to the situation where we had
    38        carcasses coming out of the chillers at temperatures as
    39        high as 16 degrees Celsius.  Shall I go further on?
    40
    41   Q.   You also said something -- to clarify it -- you very
    42        through fast, could you try to slow down a bit?  You were
    43        concerned about the surfaces in the chillers?
    44        A.  Yes, the wall surfaces.  In most abattoirs the surfaces
    45        of the chillers are covered with stainless plates, the
    46        lower surfaces up to about 1.3 metres.  They are covered
    47        with -- this was the case at Jarretts; it is a very good
    48        practice because that is where the carcass tends to touch
    49         -- stainless steel is very easily cleanable and durable
    50        material and that is where the carcasses tend to touch the 
    51        walls, if anywhere, because of the front feet being a bit 
    52        unmanageable. 
    53
    54        These stainless plates had come off the walls and the
    55        silica ceiling that was meant to prevent the water from
    56        entering behind the actual wall and the stainless plates
    57        was broken off in most areas, this causing, obviously, a
    58        problem of bacterial and yeast and mould growth in between
    59        the plates where it was impossible to clean; thus enabling
    60        aerosol contamination when the chillers are cleaned

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