At the hearing, three witnesses appeared on behalf of the appellant. The appellant's General Manager, Mr. Robert E. Jones, first explained the quality specifications required by users of the sardine oil. Such specifications relate to the fatty acid content, the peroxide value, the moisture content, etc., of the sardine oil. There are other requirements, such as the level of antioxidant and the stage at which it must be added to the sardine oil. Mr. Jones then described a typical fish meal production plant.
Oil is extracted from the sardines through cooking, pressing and centrifuging.
Ethoxyquin is added to the oil as it is being pumped into a storage tank. Mr. Gregory W. Deacon, a nutritionist for a feed manufacturer which purchases sardine oil from the appellant, also testified as to the quality specifications that are required for oil that is incorporated in the fish diet. Finally, an expert witness, Mrs. Beryl E. March, who has a Master of Science in Agriculture and who has written several publications dealing with, among other things, fish meal, oxidative changes in fish meal and fish oil, as well as oil content in fish meal, explained that fish have a particular requirement for fatty acids or, more precisely, for a particular molecule structure expressed by a double bond in a particular position in the molecule, hence the use of a high proportion of fish oil in the preparation of their diet. Fish oil, she continued, contains a variety of compounds, classified as lipids, the great majority of those being triglycerides. Mrs. March stated that triglycerides are molecules made up of one molecule of glycerol and three molecules of different fatty acids.