Day 105 - 16 Mar 95 - Page 60


     
     1
     2   Q.   10 per cent to cases contracted abroad?
     3        A.  Yes.
     4
     5   Q.   These are rough figures ---
     6        A.  Yes.
     7
     8   Q.   -- you understand?
     9        A.  Yes.
    10
    11   Q.   10 per cent to dairy produce and shell fish?
    12        A.  Yes.
    13
    14   Q.   10 per cent to human carriers at the catering stage?
    15        A.  Yes.
    16
    17   Q.   Something like .5 per cent to one per cent to red meat?
    18        A.  Yes.
    19
    20   Q.   You then said this in answer to Mr. Morris:  "We", and I am
    21        quoting you, "can deal with whatever other type of food
    22        poisoning you would like to ask me about"; this is in
    23        relation to red meat.
    24        A.  Yes.
    25
    26   Q.   Mr. Morris did not ask you, I will:  To what other
    27        organisms is any percentage of red meat poisoning, if I can
    28        put it like that, attributable?  I have expressed it very
    29        badly.  Can you give a percentage for each of the known
    30        pathogens?
    31        A.  The other organisms which have been discussed in
    32        relation to red meat food poisoning outbreaks would be
    33        Staphylococcus aureus -- forgive me for the long words --
    34        E.coli, we have already discussed; listeria is a bacteria
    35        that has been much discussed recently in relation to a
    36        range of foods and red meat has been mentioned in that
    37        range but, to the best of my knowledge, what is left out of
    38        the .5 per cent or less when Salmonella has been accounted
    39        for would be again, in my opinion, negligible.
    40
    41        Campylobacter is an organism which is associated with food
    42        poisoning, a mild form, but this is an extremely widespread
    43        organism in the food chain and almost everywhere else, if
    44        it comes to that.  To the best of my knowledge, when we
    45        look for ------
    46
    47   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  This is red meat?
    48        A.  Yes, red meat.  These are all micro-organisms which
    49        have been mentioned in relation to food poisoning and a
    50        group of foods which includes red meat.  In my view, after 
    51        studying the outbreaks or the information on the outbreaks 
    52        that have been published, when you get down to it, red meat 
    53        is virtually not implicated.  If it is, it is one or two
    54        sporadic isolated outbreaks, and that is what I meant by
    55        saying I would be willing to discuss other organisms apart
    56        from Salmonella.
    57
    58   MR. RAMPTON:  Thank you very much.  You have heard, I expect, of
    59        the case of E.coli outbreak which was attributed to
    60        McDonald's hamburgers in Preston in this country?

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