Day 089 - 15 Feb 95 - Page 69


     
     1        incidence, live birds, which has been through a process
     2        which so far as you have described it prevents
     3        proliferation of salmonella, allowing for contaminations
     4        along the way, if I take that piece of raw chicken and I do
     5        not cook it properly so that it is partly raw or
     6        under-cooked when I eat it, what sort of a risk of food
     7        poisoning do you think that I am exposing myself to?
     8        A.  The risk depends on the number of organisms.
     9
    10   Q.   Well, I know that.
    11        A.  What I am suggesting is that the number of organisms is
    12        probably fairly low at the end of our process even though
    13        we are saying that on the face of it is quite a high
    14        contamination rate.  The number of organisms is fairly low
    15        and it depends entirely on how that chicken after it is
    16        bought is stored and handled.  If it is incorrectly cooked
    17        so that food poisoning organisms have not been killed, and
    18        say it is a hot summer's day with a barbecue and the
    19        portions are left out for 46 hours, as will often happen in
    20        a barbecue party, that would be the ideal conditions for
    21        organisms to multiply and they would multiply very, very
    22        quickly in those sorts of circumstances.
    23
    24   Q.   Did you also read the report of Professor Jackson that he
    25        made after he had been to Sun Valley?
    26        A.  Yes, I have read that.
    27
    28   Q.   Were you there when he went there?
    29        A.  No, I was not.
    30
    31   Q.   Is there anything in his report about Sun Valley (we may be
    32        surprised if there is) with which you would disagree?
    33        A.  No, I am quite happy with it.
    34
    35   Q.   Then finally on food safety, Dr. Pattison, -- no, two
    36        things.  First of all, the microbiological tests that you
    37        do are of what kind?  I do not want you to go through the
    38        science of it, but what is the nature of it?
    39        A.  The tests for bacteria involve taking a 25 gramme
    40        sample of the product and mashing that up and plating it
    41        out on to what is called an agar plate with is an
    42        artificial nutrient medium to grow bacteria.
    43
    44   Q.   Did you devise that test?
    45        A.  No, this is standard practice within the industry.
    46
    47   Q.   Are your procedures in this regard approved?
    48        A.  Yes, the laboratory is audited by the Camden Food
    49        Research Association who give us a certificate of
    50        accreditation each year to carry out microbiological tests. 
    51 
    52   Q.   If you have still have the pink file 8 in front of you, 
    53        could you turn back a tab from 9 to 8, again I am not going
    54        to go through these documents, the Defendants can if they
    55        want during the course of the next two days.  Just tell us
    56        briefly what they are.  What is the first sheet we see
    57        there?
    58        A.  I am afraid it is very, very difficult to read.
    59
    60   Q.   It is terrible.  I cannot read it.

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