Day 059 - 01 Dec 94 - Page 22

     
     1   MR. RAMPTON:  It may be; I did not know so I did not ask him
     2        about it.  If he should return, then perhaps we can ask him
     3        about it.  (To the witness):  Can I ask you, Mr. Oakley,
     4        something about the use of additives in McDonald's food?
     5        A.  Yes.
     6
     7   Q.   Is that a subject on which you are, as it were,
     8        well-informed?
     9        A.  It is a subject I have knowledge of; I would not say
    10        I was well informed.
    11
    12   Q.   No.  Who puts the additives in the food, McDonald's or
    13        their suppliers?
    14        A.  The supplier.
    15
    16   Q.   Do you know whether or not the use of additives in this
    17        country is regulated by law?
    18        A.  Yes, I do.
    19
    20   Q.   Does McDonald's take any steps to ensure that its suppliers
         comply with the law so far as the use of additives is
    22        concerned?
    23        A.  Yes, the Quality Assurance Department would certainly
    24        control the use of additives in McDonald's products.
    25
    26   Q.   Have you ever come across a case in your time at McDonald's
    27        where it has been found that a supplier's use of an
    28        additive has transgressed the existing regulations or laws
    29        of this country?
    30        A.  Not that I recall, no.
    31
    32   Q.   On the food which the people eat in the restaurants,
    33        Mr. Oakley, are you conscious of a suggestion made by the
    34        Defendants in this case that your french fries are in some
    35        sense synthetic; have you heard that suggestion?
    36        A.  I have heard of the suggestion, yes.
    37
    38   Q.   Can you tell me what your french fries are made of?
    39        A.  Potatoes, shortening and in the early part of a crop
    40        year a light dextrose spray.
    41
    42   Q.   I want to come to the dextrose as a slightly separate
    43        question in a moment.  What potatoes are used for the
    44        provision of your french fries?
    45        A.  We use three varieties, an early season variety which
    46        the name is Shepody, it is a potato that originates from
    47        Canada; and then mid season varieties we use two, one is a
    48        Russet Burbank which originates from Idaho in the USA and
    49        the other is a Pentland Dell which originates from the UK.
    50 
    51   Q.   Do you import any potatoes? 
    52        A.  No, none at all. 
    53
    54   Q.   Do you import any french fries?
    55        A.  None at all.
    56
    57   Q.   So, they are all home grown, are they?
    58        A.  They are.
    59
    60   Q.   Who are they actually made by, the french fries?