Day 107 - 24 Mar 95 - Page 69
1 and another to meet it, but I am interested in your view
2 since you are here as an expert.
3 A. Can I say, Mr. Rampton, I sometimes hold extreme views
4 and what I am trying to do is to give you what I think is
5 the general consensus.
6
7 Q. That could hardly be described as an extreme view?
8 A. It is funny how people can get terribly worked up on
9 very small things.
10
11 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do not concern yourself about it. I just
12 wanted to know, have some idea, of what the body's defences
13 might be to these infections.
14
15 MR. RAMPTON: Can we go back then on a slightly different tack,
16 but not in the least bit unconnected to tab 8 which is your
17 paper, A Failure of Government. One small point on page
18 35, paragraph 4.1.12?
19 A. Yes.
20
21 Q. "Changes in farming practice: Oddly enough, the bulk of
22 the changes in farming took place immediately after the
23 war, through the fifties and sixties. Since then, the rate
24 of change has declined, as many of the productivity
25 enhancing practices have become established.
26
27 Some of the more obnoxious practises, such as feeding
28 chickens their own manure, ceased well before any
29 significant increase in food poisoning was observed. This
30 practice, carried out in a small way, was killed by the
31 increase energy costs resulting from the closure of the
32 Suez canal after the Yom Kippur war in 1978." Then you
33 explain how it became too expensive.
34
35 You write about a personal investigation which you yourself
36 did. As far as you know, is that a true statement of the
37 history of feeding their own manure to chickens?
38 A. As far as I am aware, yes.
39
40 Q. I am much more interested on this, Mr. North, on page 39 at
41 4.3.2: "Sources of contamination", at the bottom of the
42 page. I would like, if I may, to read this and this next
43 succeeding paragraph 4.3.3: "If the outbreak originates
44 from a catering operation, there are, as is identified in
45 the Ottringham outbreak report and the others described
46 later, always five possible sources of contamination.
47
48 1. The foods used in the preparation of the meat which
49 caused the illness.
50
51 2. The food handlers who prepared the meal: Any one of
52 these may harbour the organism.
53
54 3. Pests: Rats, mice, insects including flies and
55 cockroaches; in a domestic catering environment, pets may
56 also be a source.
57
58 4. Other foods: Contaminated raw meats, from which
59 bacteria may be passed on by the mechanism of
60 cross-contamination.
