Day 094 - 01 Mar 95 - Page 09

     
     1
     2   Q.   What is on the second, under O5B storage, "non-meat
     3        storage", what does mean?
     4        A.  Ingredients like butters, breadings and seasonings.
     5
     6   Q.   For that non-meat storage there were 10 out of 69 checks
     7        which showed critical non-conformity; what does that tell
     8        you?
     9        A.  What it tells me is -- I cannot speculate what happens,
    10        but what it tells me is that there was a -- it is a
    11        non-conformity, it is not a defect.  Does it represent a
    12        risk -- absolutely not.  That is what it means to me and to
    13        the US Department of Agriculture.
    14
    15   Q.   What is the mark of inspection on the first of the topics?
    16        A.  Sorry, I do not understand your question.
    17
    18   Q.   At the top it says "mark of inspect", the first of the left
    19        hand tasks?
    20        A.  That is when the US inspectors labels either the meat
         or a container or a package or anything like that.
    22
    23   Q.   So it says here that three out of the 47 checks showed
    24        critical non-conformity with standards; would that mean it
    25        might be wrongly labelled or something like that?
    26        A.  No, it could be that when it was labelled it was
    27        smeared a little bit and that is -- they have a big thing,
    28        if it is smeared, the labelling, if it is laser or if it is
    29        printed, if it is not -- if it is just smeared a little
    30        bit, that is one ------
    31
    32   Q.   That would be a critical?
    33        A.  It is a non-conformity.  It is not a defect.  It does
    34        not represent a risk to human consumption.
    35
    36   Q.   I will not go through any more.  I put it to you, Dr. Gomez
    37        Gonzalez, you would not see a risk if it was staring you in
    38        the face in the US DA inspection reports?
    39        A.  By looking at this data?
    40
    Q.   Yes.
    42        A.  Absolutely not.  I do not see a risk here for human
    43        consumption.
    44
    45   Q.   But you would not see a risk here, would you, even if it
    46        was staring you in the face, you would not see it?
    47        A.  Yes, I would, but this data does not tell me that and,
    48        according to the United States Department of Agriculture,
    49        that is not what it means.
    50 
    51   Q.   You are aware that chicken products are one of the main 
    52        sources of food poisoning incidents, are you not -- well, 
    53        they are in the UK; that has been admitted by -----
    54        A.  OK, they could be a source of food illness, that is
    55        correct.
    56
    57   Q.   And that Salmonella bacteria infects a large percentage of
    58        chicken products?
    59        A.  That is incorrect.  It is not an infection, it is an
    60        infestation.