Day 099 - 08 Mar 95 - Page 18

     
     1        A.  Yes.
     2
     3   Q.   And if there is contamination on the exterior of a piece of
     4        solid meat and it is ground up, then it may get into the
     5        interior?
     6        A.  Correct.
     7
     8   Q.   The same, I take it, is true to some extent of a chicken as
     9        well; is that right?
    10        A.  Yes, correct.
    11
    12   Q.   What you are chiefly concerned with then, as I have
    13        followed it, is that the interior temperature of the
    14        product should be apt to kill any bugs that may be there?
    15        A.  That is right, yes.
    16
    17   Q.   Do you, nonetheless, have systems which are designed to
    18        prevent contamination from exterior sources after the
    19        products have been frozen?
    20        A.  Yes, we do.
    21
    22   Q.   I think Mr. Atherton -- I will not ask you about it -- has
    23        described the systems which are in place in the restaurant?
    24        A.  In the restaurant, that is right, yes.
    25
    26   Q.   Are there any problems of contamination along the route
    27        from, let us say, Milton Keynes to Golden West to the
    28        restaurant?
    29        A.  No, because we ensure, and again it is part of our
    30        responsibility to ensure, that the food is suitably
    31        packaged so that contamination is not an issue.
    32
    33   Q.   Does McDonald's do any microbiological testing of its own?
    34        A.  Yes, we do.
    35
    36   Q.   Where do you do that?
    37        A.  We use -- we do not have our own laboratories.  We will
    38        use external laboratories or we may use laboratories of our
    39        suppliers to do those tests.
    40
    Q.   Have you used laboratories of McKey's, for example?
    42        A.  Yes, we do.
    43
    44   Q.   You send in your own people to do that?
    45        A.  No, we use McKey staff.
    46
    47   Q.   What external or independent laboratory do you use?
    48        A.  We have a number of independent laboratories that we
    49        use for various things.
    50 
    51   Q.   What are you doing when you are, as it were, doing your own 
    52        independent analyses -- the suppliers do it, the 
    53        slaughterhouses do it and now you are doing it -- why are
    54        you doing it?
    55        A.  Well, it is an additional check.  It is belt and
    56        braces, if you like.  We fully trust -- we have worked with
    57        our suppliers, we fully trust them, but it does not hurt to
    58        have an additional check in there.
    59
    60   Q.   Could I ask you to look at yellow volume VII and a pink