Day 295 - 06 Nov 96 - Page 13


     
     1
     2   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Yes, but is two incidences a lot or very
     3        few, or what?
     4
     5   MR. MORRIS:   I would say that E.Coli is always present in beef.
     6
     7   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   0157H is not.  It was not discovered in
     8        America until the outbreaks there, and it was not
     9        discovered in this country until Preston.  It is clearly
    10        very serious, or potentially serious, but the picture is it
    11        is very rare.  E.Coli of various kinds are very common, but
    12        the picture at the moment that I have got is that E.Coli
    13        0157H is rare but its potential for damage is such that it
    14        has to be taken seriously.  It is the usual risk
    15        assessment.  You balance the frequency or rarity of the
    16        incidences against the severity of the consequences, if it
    17        does appear.
    18
    19   MR. MORRIS:   Right.  My understanding is that it is prevalent
    20        in British herds.
    21
    22   MR JUSTICE BELL:  Not 0157H.
    23
    24   MR. RAMPTON:   Dr. North gave some figures.  I think one of them
    25        was four in six hundred cows.
    26
    27   MR. MORRIS:   That is quite prevalent.
    28
    29   MR JUSTICE BELL:  I may be wrong, which is why I am asking the
    30        questions, but -----
    31
    32   MR. MORRIS:   Even working on that figure, four in 600,
    33        something just under one percent, I would say that is
    34        extremely prevalent of a dangerous contaminant, because
    35        McDonald's system absolutely guarantees that the
    36        contamination will be spread throughout the products that
    37        they produce.
    38
    39   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Just pause a moment.
    40
    41   MR. MORRIS:   That was Dr. North.
    42
    43   MR JUSTICE BELL:  Are you really saying that -- because one has
    44        to use one's words carefully -- it guarantees that it would
    45        be spread because it is in the gut to start with?
    46
    47   MR. MORRIS:   Yes.
    48
    49   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   It is not in the cow.  Certainly, is not in
    50        the meat, because to start with the moment the animal is
    51        killed -- because assuming the animal is healthy, none of
    52        these organisms are found in healthy muscles.
    53
    54   MR. MORRIS:   Right.  But -----
    55
    56   MS. STEEL:   I think, bearing in mind that they use beef from
    57        6,900 head of cattle per week, that actually means there is
    58        quite a lot of potential for the spread of E.Coli, for
    59        E.Coli to get into the products.
    60

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