THE British "Mad Cow" dilemma continued to cast a shadow of uncertainty over the dairy products sector.

While there were not many share deals, dealers said investors were uncertain how the crisis would pan out. So apprehension will envelop the market until some of the side effects are capable of being evaluated.

Kerry lost 9p to 525p following the decision of Quinnsworth to take Denny products from its shelves because they include British beef. Also, Kerry is a major processor of beef in the south west of England.

Analysts noted that the Denny products are insignificant to Kerry and as a major British meat producer it may benefit from a switch to pork. Nevertheless, Quinnsworth's decision cast a bit of a shadow over Kerry which has dropped 25p since the scare.

Avonmore was also weak, falling by 4p to 138p. Its beef sales account for 8 per cent of its operating profits. Golden Vale trimmed 1p to 78p.

Going against the trend, Greencore improved 4p to 312p. Yesterday it announced that its offer for Williams Group of Tullamore was accepted by shareholders representing 87 per cent of the equity and it has now been declared unconditional.

Waterford Foods announced good results, with a 22.7 per cent rise in profit before extraordinary charges and tax from £20.3 million to £24.9 million. However, there were no dealings in the shares.

Fyffes was a strong feature. The shares rose by 5p to 115p.

The banks were mixed. AIB, weakened 4p to 31 6p while Bank of Ireland was dealt unchanged at 414p.

Bula strengthened from 1.5p to 2.25p. This buoyancy was a direct result of the news that it had started drilling Siberia.

Irish Life was weaker. In a series of deals it fell 2p to 251p.