Day 125 - 12 May 95 - Page 08


     
     1        internal temperature of the patty as the test for whether
     2        it is properly cooked or not for sometime now, have you?
     3        A.  Yes.
     4
     5   Q.   Do you know when that change-over took place?
     6        A.  I want to say we -- it goes back 20 years we were
     7        actually checking the temperature, the interior
     8        temperature, of the meat.  We were using a single, you
     9        know, a single probe.
    10
    11   Q.   How is the new one more accurate?
    12        A.  Well, it is, it just -- I do not know the physics of
    13        the device, but it gives us a much more accurate reading,
    14        the plus or minus variation of temperature is a lot tighter
    15        than the previous pieces of equipment that we were using.
    16
    17   Q.   Sorry, when was this new piece of equipment brought in?
    18        A.  I could not give you the month and the year.  I can
    19        give you, you know, a fair range and even now, as we speak,
    20        I am sure they are working on even more sophisticated
    21         ......
    22
    23   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, just the best you can do for the
    24        multi-prong rather than single prong?
    25        A.  80s.
    26
    27   MS. STEEL:  In the 80s.  On page 18, bundle page 18, internal
    28        page 74, there is the finished product criteria for 10-1
    29        patties and 4-1 patties.  Step 2, it says:  "Check the
    30        internal temperature of the 10-1 patties immediately.  The
    31        minimum acceptable internal temperature is 147 degrees
    32        Fahrenheit or 64 degrees Centigrade."  That is the same for
    33        the 4-1 patties in the following column.  Is that still the
    34        internal temperature that people are to test for?
    35        A.  I believe -- let us see, this was 1991 -- I believe
    36        that is higher now.
    37
    38   Q.   Do you know what it is now?
    39        A.  It may be up to 149, 150.
    40
    41   Q.   When was that changed, do you know?
    42        A.  Well, between -- sometime between now and 1990 when
    43        this manual was drafted, over the last couple of years,
    44        I think.
    45
    46   Q.   In the last couple of years?
    47        A.  Yes.
    48
    49   Q.   Was that after the Jack-in-the-box incident?  I believe
    50        there may have been a law that was brought in on this? 
    51        A.  No, there was no law. 
    52 
    53   Q.   Or direction or something?
    54        A.  No direction or law, to my knowledge.
    55
    56   Q.   Do you know why the Company put the temperature up?
    57
    58   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Shall we pursue, first of all, whether there
    59        has been a change of law or not, was that a response to the
    60        Jack-in-the-box matter?

Prev Next Index