Letter: Sheep, cattle and CJD

Sir: I cannot see much sense in the removal of beef from school dinner menus ("Parents win a schools ban on beef in 'mad cow' alert", 6 December) while continuing to provide custard, cheese and ice-cream, all made from that intimate bovine body fluid, milk. We know little about the mysterious BSE agent apparently, except that it is not destroyed by any pasteurisation process, no matter how aggressive. Is Stephen Dorrell, the Health Secretary, quite happy about this, too?

Yours faithfully,

Brian P. James

Maidenhead,

Berkshire

6 December