Day 094 - 01 Mar 95 - Page 53


     
     1        company's record on matters such as this?
     2        A.  We do not do that, as a corporation.  Our suppliers,
     3        that is their responsibility, our suppliers of patty
     4        burgers.  This has nothing to do with the speed of the line
     5        or with the hygiene conditions of the meat.
     6
     7   Q.   So that is another thing that you leave up to your
     8        suppliers?
     9        A.  That is correct.  It has nothing to do with hygiene
    10        whatsoever.  In fact, it is a totally different agency.
    11
    12   Q.   So do you check up on hygiene records of the companies that
    13        you get the meat from?
    14        A.  Yes, I do.
    15
    16   Q.   The slaughterhouses?
    17        A.  Yes, I do.
    18
    19   Q.   You do?
    20        A.  Yes, I do.
    21
    22   Q.   Do all of them have a pristine record for hygiene matters?
    23        A.  What do you mean by a "pristine record"?
    24
    25   Q.   Have any of them been -----
    26        A.  Do I consider them to be within acceptable guidelines
    27        set up by the major microbiological associations
    28        worldwide?  Yes, I do.  I have never seen any violation.
    29
    30   Q.   So it would be acceptable for them to have some
    31        convictions, or something like that, as long as they there
    32        were not what you considered to be too many?
    33        A.  Now we are talking about microbiology?  There are some
    34        instances that a lot of -- when they call it here, any of
    35        the non-conformists, they are not related directly to the
    36        safety of a product.  It might not be anything close to a
    37        line, that the inspector keeps a record of everything that
    38        he feels it is not safe.  There are a lot of instances in
    39        which it can be debated.
    40
    41        We choose not to fight the regulations.  We comply with
    42        their requests.  When I had experience of working on the
    43        plant they will be upset if we did not paint a door that
    44        was outside of the processing line.  They will cite us for
    45        that.  Those are very trivial things and they, especially
    46        now where they try to justify their position, they use that
    47        as a means to say:  "Hey, look at me, we are important.  We
    48        do a lot of things which are very, very trivial".
    49
    50   Q.   So you would accept a supplier that had convictions for 
    51        something related to hygiene but you felt was something 
    52        trivial? 
    53        A.  This is not -- these are not convictions.
    54
    55   Q.   Well ---
    56        A.  When the plant is shut down ----
    57
    58   Q.   -- violations?
    59        A.  -- the plant, it is as the US DA sees it, an inspector,
    60        unfit for human consumption, unsafe, we will not accept

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