Day 099 - 08 Mar 95 - Page 15

     
     1        audits.
     2
     3   Q.   No, your department.
     4        A.  I do not have those facilities, but our department will
     5        do, yes.
     6
     7   Q.   About how frequently?
     8        A.  A full audit would be done at least twice a year.
     9
    10   Q.   Can we take the so-called pathogenic organisms separately
    11        so as we can put a down a framework for the rest of your
    12        evidence?  What is or are the organisms about which you
    13        would be concerned in relation to chicken?
    14        A.  Pathogenic organisms in chicken really are that we are
    15        concerned about Salmonella, Staphaureus, Staphylococcus
    16        aureus, because of the handling of the chicken and
    17        Campylobacter is also commonly present in chicken.
    18
    19   Q.   Does the pathogenic quality or effect of those organisms
    20        differ according to the numbers of bacteria that are to be
         found on any given piece of contaminated meat or not?
    22        A.  Sorry, could you say that again?
    23
    24   Q.   Yes.  Is the pathogenic effect of those three that you
    25        mentioned, Salmonella Staphylococcus aureus and, I think it
    26        was, Campylobacter, is the pathogenic effect of those
    27        organisms, so far as you know, quantity dependent in any
    28        sense?
    29        A.  Certainly with the Salmonella and Staphaureus, they
    30        have to grow to pretty high numbers in the food product
    31        before there is any food poisoning problems.
    32
    33   Q.   Are there some people, do you know, in the population at
    34        large who may be vulnerable to smaller quantities of those
    35        organisms?
    36        A.  Yes, young children, old women, pregnant women, people
    37        with immuno deficiencies would be .....
    38
    39   Q.   Looking at temperature and conditions in which bacteria may
    40        be thought to proliferate, taking Salmonella and
         Campylobacter, are those or are they not organisms which
    42        depend, at any rate, to some extent upon temperature to
    43        encourage their proliferation?
    44        A.  Yes, definitely.
    45
    46   Q.   Those two are?
    47        A.  Yes.
    48
    49   Q.   What about Staphylococcus aureus?
    50        A.  Yes, that requires an optimum temperature for growth, 
    51        yes. 
    52 
    53   Q.   For those three -- it may not be the same optimum
    54        temperature -- what are the optimum temperature or
    55        temperatures for those three?
    56        A.  As a general rule of thumb, it is body temperature,
    57        blood temperature, that the pathogenic bacteria proliferate
    58        best at.
    59
    60   Q.   98 and a bit Fahrenheit or 37 something Centigrade?