Day 061 - 05 Dec 94 - Page 43

     
     1
     2   Q.   How often has she made visits?
     3        A.  To Sun Valley?
     4
     5   Q.   Yes.
     6        A.  It is probably the supplier she visits more than anyone
     7        else.  How often, it really does not fall into a set
     8        pattern of weekly or monthly or three-monthly.  She may go
     9        several times in a month; she may not go at all one month.
    10        It depends what she is required there for, but it probably
    11        is the supplier she visits most -- in fact, not "probably",
    12        it is the supplier she visits most.
    13
    14   Q.   Why does she visit them, in particular, then?
    15        A.  I think from a quality point of view, which is what she
    16        is really responsible for, we have probably had more
    17        quality problems with that product than we have with any
    18        other product.
    19
    20   Q.   Right, and what are the quality problems?  What do you mean
         by that?
    22        A.  They mostly relates to bone complaints or foreign body
    23        complaints.
    24
    25   Q.   So most of the time she makes visits down there it would be
    26        for the reasons of problems with the quality?
    27        A.  That would take her there on the most occasions, but
    28        because they have everything on one site and she does get
    29        out into other parts of the business too, quite frequently.
    30
    31   Q.   I think they have moved their processing plant to France at
    32        the moment, have they not; is that right?
    33        A.  Well, the Hereford plant burnt down, so production
    34        currently is in France and is being rebuilt in this country
    35        at this time.
    36
    37   Q.   So does she go over to France to make these checks?
    38        A.  She does indeed.  There is no rearing or slaughtering
    39        in France.  It is purely processing.
    40
    Q.   So if she went over to France to make these checks, she
    42        would not be able to check on the slaughtering over there?
    43        A.  No, she would need a separate visit to Hereford to do
    44        that which, in fact, she does.
    45
    46   Q.   Do you know how many times she has been down to Hereford
    47        since the processing plant moved to France?
    48        A.  I could not tell you exactly how many times.  It is
    49        quite a lot.
    50 
    51   Q.   Are we talking about five times a year, 10 times a year? 
    52        A.  Oh, more.  I did say I did not want to categorise this 
    53        in weeks or months or numbers of visits.  But if I had to
    54        put a number on it, it would be more than a dozen, I would
    55        think.
    56
    57   Q.   Does she go to the farms as well then?
    58        A.  Not every visit.  She does go to the farms from time to
    59        time, yes, not that frequently.  She is not required to;
    60        she is really concerned with the production end of the