Day 125 - 12 May 95 - Page 13


     
     1        would not have occurred?
     2        A.  I do not know -----
     3
     4   Q.   What you are being asked, and all you can really say in
     5        answer to Mr. Morris, is whether you recall any such
     6        proposal, that there should be some kind of regulatory
     7        provision as to the minimum internal temperature of, for
     8        instance, a burger patty.
     9        A.  I do not recall that.  I do not recall any directive or
    10        any proposal that caused us to make a change.  The reason
    11        that changes were made in our system I think I have already
    12        spoken to.  I have spoken to that earlier.  He certainly
    13        heightened the awareness around the country.  That incident
    14        heightened the awareness around the country, not just for
    15        the internal temperature of the product but the handling of
    16        meat products.
    17
    18   MR. MORRIS:  Somebody in Operations would have to know that kind
    19        of thing, would they, about whether -- is it the Secretary
    20        of State for Agriculture?  Is that his official title?
    21        A.  Secretary of Agriculture.
    22
    23   Q.   Secretary of Agriculture.  If he was proposing assessing
    24        minimum internal temperature guidelines or regulations for
    25        all burger fast-food companies, would somebody in
    26        Operations at McDonald's have to know that?
    27        A.  Yes, absolutely.  I would say this, his staff, or
    28        people that worked for him, made various recommendations to
    29        him.  I am certain there was a great deal of discussion
    30        that took place with people from our industry and from the
    31        entire restaurant industry on the matter.  The fact of the
    32        matter is that I do not think it is just as simple as just
    33        the internal temperature of the -----
    34
    35   Q.   That is what the concern is at the moment?
    36        A.  Pardon me?
    37
    38   Q.   I understand there is a whole range of things, some not
    39        even relevant to the fast-food industry, about uncooked raw
    40        products and things that he was concerned with.  Is Stan
    41        Stein in Operations?
    42        A.  No, he is not.
    43
    44   Q.   What is his position again?
    45        A.  He is Senior Vice President in charge of Human
    46        Resources.
    47
    48   Q.   Would you expect him to know about the ---
    49        A.  No.
    50 
    51   Q.   -- Government proposal? 
    52        A.  I will say this, I think there is certainly a strong 
    53        degree of confidence in the overall operating procedures
    54        and practices at McDonald's by the current administration.
    55        This may be anecdotal but our current President is quite a
    56        fan of McDonald's and, as you might have seen on
    57        television, he frequents McDonald's quite a bit.
    58
    59   Q.   I have heard the First Lady is not very happy about that.
    60

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