Day 094 - 01 Mar 95 - Page 22
1
2 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, I understand that.
3
4 THE WITNESS: The part has: "Industry officials say that as
5 long as consumers"?
6
7 MS. STEEL: "Industry executives and US DA officials point out
8 that today less than" -----
9 A. OK, yes.
10
11 Q. Would you accept that?
12
13 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think you should put again this. Depending
14 on how far you read on, there are a number of suggestions
15 there. Put specifically what you are asking him if he
16 accepts.
17
18 MS. STEEL: As far as "decades ago" for the moment?
19 A. That is possible, yes.
20
21 Q. Would you accept the following sentence?
22 A. Yes, when it says "decades ago", that is correct.
23
24 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You are asked whether you would accept that
25 at least one third of ---
26 A. Yes.
27
28 Q. -- chicken products are contaminated with Salmonella and
29 other bacteria?
30 A. Yes.
31
32 MS. STEEL: In terms of it being Salmonella and other bacteria,
33 that would be true for Tysons as well?
34 A. That is correct, except that their numbers are lower,
35 lower than 30 per cent. The 30 per cent is an industry
36 average.
37
38 Q. It says "at least"?
39 A. It is an average. There are a lot of reports that are
40 documented that is about 30 per cent.
41
42 Q. Would you agree with the comment, "it would cost far too
43 much to produce cleaner chicken" which is attributed to
44 industry officials?
45 A. That is correct.
46
47 Q. Is that something that McDonald's feels?
48 A. Something that we have been looking for, yes. Every
49 single day we are looking for a better method. The only
50 method that we have found that would eliminate bacteria is
51 the radiation, but there is obviously some concerns from
52 the public that they would not accept the chicken, but we
53 are continuously looking for new ways.
54
55 Q. What about less intensive methods of rearing?
56 A. That does not work. You can find the same thing in
57 free-range chickens, if not more.
58
59 Q. If the chickens are kept in close confinement they are more
60 likely to catch diseases off each other, are they not ---
