Day 105 - 16 Mar 95 - Page 64


     
     1        piece of meat.  Is that right?
     2        A.  Yes.
     3
     4   Q.   Have I understood it correctly?
     5        A.  Yes, particularly under chilled conditions.
     6
     7   Q.   Can you explain how it happens, if you know?
     8        A.  I am given to understand on studying the matter that at
     9        temperatures represented by a commercial chiller, as we
    10        have seen they may well be round about 7, 10 degrees
    11        Centigrade, certain types of bacteria which develop more
    12        quickly at those temperatures do just that, and they
    13        compete very strongly with, for example, Salmonella which
    14        is not a particularly robust organism at those temperatures
    15        and, therefore, you are likely to get smaller numbers
    16        rather than less as the spoilage organisms take over.  It
    17        is commercial refrigeration.  You get bacterial growth, of
    18        course, but it is altered tremendously in its pattern by
    19        the temperature.
    20
    21   Q.   When you say "compete", what is the nature of the
    22        competition; do you know?
    23        A.  Well, the conditions mainly of temperature and possibly
    24        of dryness help the particular bacteria that thrive, but
    25        Salmonella dislike intensely that temperature and the drier
    26        conditions.  Salmonella proliferate very rapidly in moist,
    27        warm conditions, hence the need for catering care.
    28
    29   MR. RAMPTON:  Thank you, Mr. Bennett.  My Lord, those are all
    30        the questions.
    31
    32   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Thank you, Mr. Bennett.
    33
    34   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, I have taken, unless your Lordship says
    35        otherwise, all the witnesses are released.
    36
    37   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.
    38
    39                       (The witness withdrew)
    40
    41   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What is to happen next then?  Mr. North is
    42        next Thursday.
    43
    44   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, that is the first event I have on the
    45        calendar.  I make no suggestions for the intervening
    46        period, not because there are things that could be
    47        discussed, there are, but simply because I want the
    48        Defendants to have as much time as possible to attend not
    49        only to the witnesses that have to come next week, but to
    50        matters which lie further in the future. 
    51 
    52   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Do you have anything to say about that?  We 
    53        have Friday, that is tomorrow, Monday, Tuesday and
    54        Wednesday, when we will not be in court which, unless you
    55        have a suggestion to make to the contrary, will give you
    56        more time to get ready for your own witnesses.  I would be
    57        grateful if you could attend to the forms in relation to
    58        the employment witnesses in so far as you have been unable
    59        to do that as well.  Is there anything else?
    60

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