Day 217 - 09 02 96 - Page 51
DAY 217
1 the top?
2 A. From the floor where I stand. I would say a yard and
3 -- a metre and a half. He was -- the carcass washman
4 stands a metre and a half from the ground and the trimming
5 man is about 40 centimetres, 30 centimetres, a platform
6 that you can easily step on without having to use a
7 ladder.
8
9 MR. RAMPTON: That is what I had understood.
10 A. One further point is the fat trimmers. They use what
11 we call a circle -----
12
13 Q. Sorry, I am not going to stop you going on with your
14 critique at all. I would like to know why it matters that
15 the carcass man should have access to a hand wash?
16 A. The carcass washman?
17
18 Q. Yes, the carcass washman.
19 A. Well, all operators should be able to wash their hands
20 and their instruments with regular intervals because of the
21 -- the risk of cross-contamination.
22
23 Q. Do the hands of the carcass washman come into contact with
24 the meat of the animal?
25 A. Yes, he touches the carcass every -- he touches every
26 carcass. He moves the carcass when he sprays it.
27
28 Q. Which part of the carcass does he touch?
29 A. Often the brisket, the sides of the animal. He might
30 touch the back legs.
31
32 Q. What is in the hand wash?
33 A. What is in the hand wash? It is water unless you use
34 the soap that is usually ------
35
36 Q. It is water?
37 A. Yes.
38
39 Q. What is in the hose?
40 A. Water, but on his hands he is going to have material
41 from every animal in that slaughter that has gone through
42 the slaughter line because he touches them.
43
44 Q. Do you give credit to human beings for a certain amount of
45 what I might call on the spot ingenuity? If I am a carcass
46 washman, I am holding a hose which is full of water about
47 twice the pressure of a garden hose; there is no reason
48 I cannot point the hose at my fingers, is there?
49 A. You probably do not remember that we were talking about
50 the carcass wash before, and I was questioning and the
51 whole research community on meat hygiene is questioning the
52 hygiene of washing with a hose pipe. Usually, you are
53 spreading contamination rather than taking it off. The
54 hand wash basins are provided with soap and disinfectant
55 that the men are supposed to use to clean their hands
56 periodically. It is completely different from the carcass
57 wash. It is a procedure which is being criticised by
58 experts all over the world and it is probably going to be
59 stopped unless the consumers find it acceptable to add
60 disinfectants into the carcass wash water. It is under
51
