Day 081 - 31 Jan 95 - Page 07

     
     1   Q.   What about in the kitchen?
     2        A.  In the kitchen, the main essential is keeping food at
     3        the correct temperature and thorough cooking.
     4
     5   Q.   How important is thorough cooking in that long process?
     6        A.  That is essential and that is the end point so it is
     7        probably the most important.
     8
     9   Q.   Is it possible in the precooking stage to eliminate all
    10        possibility of contamination by these organisms?
    11        A.  No.
    12
    13   Q.   How does it help to reduce or minimise that contamination?
    14        A.  Cleanliness, ensuring there is a minimum contamination.
    15
    16   Q.   Sorry, it may be obvious, but if cooking is the bastion, as
    17        it were, standing between the human and illness, how does
    18        it help to have cleanliness, hygiene and so on in the
    19        precooking stages?
    20        A.  The more you can reduce earlier, then the less is the
         risk later -- if it produces a risk, if there is a
    22        break-down, if the food is not properly cooked, then it
    23        reduces the potential.
    24
    25   Q.   What, generally speaking, are the conditions in which these
    26        organisms will breed or proliferate -- I do not know what
    27        the right word is?
    28        A.  They generally require moisture, correct temperature
    29        and the food source.
    30
    31   Q.   Roughly speaking, what is the correct temperature -- the
    32        food source is something for them to live on; is that
    33        right?
    34        A.  Yes.
    35
    36   Q.   What is the desirable or correct temperature if you are an
    37        organism for proliferation?
    38        A.  Most of the organisms which cause disease multiply most
    39        rapidly at blood temperature, about 37 degrees Celsius.
    40
    Q.   At what sort of level do they become, what one might call,
    42        torpid or unkeen on proliferating?
    43        A.  They gradually diminish in reproduction down to below
    44        five degrees Celsius they are inhibitive.
    45
    46   Q.   Are they completely inactive at that stage or not?
    47        A.  Not necessarily but, generally, the reproduction over a
    48        short period of time is eroded.
    49
    50   Q.   In your visits to these four establishments, did you 
    51        observe any conditions which, in your view, were apt to 
    52        engender proliferation of any bacteria there might be in 
    53        the raw meat?
    54        A.  No.
    55
    56   Q.   Have you read the two statements made by Richard North on
    57        behalf of the Defendants?
    58        A.  I have read one statement.
    59
    60   Q.   Can I ask you, please -- it is the Defendants' witness