Day 081 - 31 Jan 95 - Page 20
1 that they had records? I mean, did you actually look at
2 them in depth at all?
3 A. I looked through them to see if they were what I might
4 have found acceptable, but I did not bother to make a note
5 of what was on them. I mean, it is 12 months ago now.
6 I am afraid I cannot remember.
7
8 Q. When you say "acceptable", do you mean in terms of the kind
9 of information that they wanted recorded or in terms of
10 whether the results were what you had hoped for or expected
11 or what?
12 A. I looked to see whether that was the sort of system
13 that would be acceptable and whether there was anything
14 they had found unrecorded which was unacceptable.
15
16 Q. On page 5 of the statement, the second to last paragraph,
17 what is the difference in function between the official
18 veterinary surgeon and the six meat inspectors?
19 A. Well, in theory, they do the same function but the
20 official veterinary surgeon is normally empowered to sign
21 documents.
22
23 Q. Whereas the meat inspectors are not?
24 A. No, the health certificate is signed by the veterinary
25 surgeon.
26
27 Q. The official veterinary surgeon also has to do all the
28 checks before the slaughtering and during the slaughtering?
29 A. The official veterinary surgeon is the person in charge
30 but the meat inspectors would probably carry out the
31 functions.
32
33 Q. So the meat inspectors would not just look at the meat,
34 they would look at the animal beforehand?
35 A. That is normally the role of the veterinary surgeon but
36 it can be done by the meat inspectors, but they do range
37 over the entire process.
38
39 Q. They are under the guidance of the OVS?
40 A. Yes.
41
42 Q. If they see a problem they report it to the OVS?
43 A. If there was a problem in the live animal then it would
44 be reported to the OVS because he would be qualified to
45 deal with that.
46
47 Q. What about if it was a problem with the meat?
48 A. Normally, the meat inspector would normally deal with
49 that himself.
50
51 Q. So then what happens with the certification because if the
52 OVS is not checking all of the meat, they just rely on what
53 the meat inspectors have said, do they?
54 A. Well, for practical purposes you are talking about
55 thousands of animals going through. The OVS cannot see
56 them all.
57
58 Q. Right.
59 A. Yes, but, obviously, the meat inspectors are qualified
60 to do this sort of job and they have to be trusted to do
