Day 111 - 30 Mar 95 - Page 35
1 a situation where the bacteria are allowed circumstances
2 where they can very easily proliferate and the
3 contamination can, even under chilling conditions, happen,
4 because we are talking about two wet surfaces that touch.
5 It is very difficult for the cool air to get in there and
6 chill the carcass rapidly enough. We are also talking
7 about a situation where allows the pathogenic bacteria to
8 penetrate the muscle again where it is out of sight and we
9 cannot really deal with it.
10
11 Q. Why is that? Is that because the moisture goes into the
12 crevices?
13 A. The moisture is necessary for bacterial growth. One
14 way of preserving meat, for example, is drying it. It is
15 actually a very efficient way of preserving meat, much more
16 efficient than chilling. Basically, we have now come to
17 the chiller areas. You can see the first chill. It is
18 called "chill" on the picture here. In the trade, we
19 usually call them "chillers", "carcass chillers". The
20 carcass chillers, I cannot remember how many of them they
21 had at Jarretts; I think there were either three, or two or
22 four, I am not quite sure.
23
24 These chillers, the biggest problem with the chillers was
25 basically, apart from the fact that surface materials had
26 deteriorated to a point where they were in need of urgent
27 repair, my biggest worry was really the fact that the
28 carcasses were overfilled and the chilling was not done in
29 an efficient or statutory manner. This obviously led to
30 the situation we had after the chillers. The carcasses
31 were not chilled.
32
33 Q. You said they were "overfilled"?
34 A. They were overfilled, yes.
35
36 Q. You mean the chillers were overfilled.
37 A. Yes, and this led to the situation where we had
38 carcasses coming out of the chillers at temperatures as
39 high as 16 degrees Celsius. Shall I go further on?
40
41 Q. You also said something -- to clarify it -- you very
42 through fast, could you try to slow down a bit? You were
43 concerned about the surfaces in the chillers?
44 A. Yes, the wall surfaces. In most abattoirs the surfaces
45 of the chillers are covered with stainless plates, the
46 lower surfaces up to about 1.3 metres. They are covered
47 with -- this was the case at Jarretts; it is a very good
48 practice because that is where the carcass tends to touch
49 -- stainless steel is very easily cleanable and durable
50 material and that is where the carcasses tend to touch the
51 walls, if anywhere, because of the front feet being a bit
52 unmanageable.
53
54 These stainless plates had come off the walls and the
55 silica ceiling that was meant to prevent the water from
56 entering behind the actual wall and the stainless plates
57 was broken off in most areas, this causing, obviously, a
58 problem of bacterial and yeast and mould growth in between
59 the plates where it was impossible to clean; thus enabling
60 aerosol contamination when the chillers are cleaned
