Day 094 - 01 Mar 95 - Page 19


     
     1        him; that is what the product is like coming from chicken
     2        plants today", if that was a Tyson inspector who said that,
     3        would that concern you?
     4        A.  No, that was not a Tyson plant inspector.  That was an
     5        inspector that worked at a Tyson plant.  Probably he would
     6        said that.
     7
     8   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Would you know about the comment, first of
     9        all?
    10        A.  Would I know?
    11
    12   Q.   Yes, have you heard the comment before?
    13        A.  No, I have not.
    14
    15   MS. STEEL:  You read the article yesterday?
    16        A.  Yes, I did.
    17
    18   Q.   That was a comment in that article?
    19        A.  That is correct.
    20
    21   Q.   Attributed to an inspector at a Tyson plant?
    22        A.  That is correct -- not our plant, but yes.
    23
    24   Q.   Does that concern you at all?
    25        A.  Absolutely not.
    26
    27   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  He does not know whether it is true.  That is
    28        the trouble.
    29
    30   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, he does not know two things.  First of
    31        all, he does not know whether the inspector actually said
    32        it.  One does not believe everything, with respect to the
    33        press, that one reads in the newspapers.
    34        A.  That is correct.
    35
    36   MS. STEEL:  Do you assume that anything an inspector says is
    37        untrue?
    38        A.  No.
    39
    40   Q.   So, as a company, would it concern you, if you heard a
    41        comment like that, would you take the trouble to
    42        investigate it and find out whether it was not true or
    43        would you just assume that it was not true?
    44        A.  Let me tell you.  We do not take action in every claim
    45        that is made.  We have been on the -- we are probably the
    46        most targeted company there is, because people want
    47        attention so they focus on us because of our brand
    48        knowledge at McDonald's.  When I hear a comment like that
    49        under the worse conditions possible in that plant, is not
    50        even possible -- am I concerned about that -- absolutely 
    51        not, I know what we do. 
    52 
    53   Q.   If an inspector said:  "I've had bad air sac birds that had
    54        yellow pus visibly coming out of their insides, and I was
    55        told to save the breast meat of them even save the second
    56        joint of the wing.  You might get those breasts today at a
    57        store in a package of breast fillets.  And you might get
    58        the other part in a pack of buffalo wings".  If an
    59        inspector at a Tyson plant made that comment, would that
    60        concern you?

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