Day 244 - 03 May 96 - Page 15

     
     1        safety point of view, the critical point is that the meat
     2        achieves an internal temperature of 70 degrees
     3        Centigrade"--  the time it achieves that is another
     4        matter -- "checking daily grill calibration does not ensure
     5        this."
     6
     7        I cannot remember if you dealt with it before, but someone
     8        will let me know if you have.  Had Dr. North made any
     9        comment about it?
    10
    11   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I do not know.  Let me ask Dr. North because
    12        it may have been a development which came out after you had
    13        given your evidence.
    14
    15        I have some evidence that what McDonald's did instead of
    16        checking grill calibrations, which might or might not cope
    17        with the risk of certain parts of the grill were cooler
    18        than others and so on, was to have spot checks with a probe
    19        on the internal temperature of the meat and I have some
    20        evidence that they thought that that was a more reliable
         way of checking whether the grills were cooking the meat
    22        properly than grill calibration checks.
    23
    24        I offer no view of my own on what inference is to be drawn
    25        from that, but were you aware of that when you gave
    26        evidence before?
    27        A.  I seem to remember we did discuss it, did we not?
    28
    29   Q.   I cannot recall now.
    30        A.  I seem to recall saying that checking internal
    31        temperatures of burgers was extremely difficult and very
    32        unreliable.
    33
    34   Q.   I remember you saying that.  I have got a note of that.
    35        You had better ask your question about it, Mr. Morris.
    36
    37   MR. MORRIS:  Bearing in mind that you said that internal
    38        temperature checks are unreliable and difficult, and that
    39        McDonald's are saying that the grill calibration checks
    40        daily do not ensure the internal minimum temperatures are
         achieved, and that is what they said, are you satisfied
    42        that their procedures guarantee the effective cooking of
    43        all their burgers?
    44        A.  It does not change the net conclusion that their
    45        procedures do not, cannot -- let me rephrase this.  It is a
    46        combination of procedures and the type of equipment used in
    47        their context of their use, in my view, would not guarantee
    48        persistent attainment of target temperatures.
    49
    50   MR. MORRIS:  If we move on to the pesticides statement. 
    51 
    52   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes. 
    53
    54   MR. MORRIS: "A report on the presence of pesticides in foods
    55        served by McDonald's Restaurants.
    56
    57        Richards North PhD
    58
    59        17th January 1996.
    60