Sir, - Could the Minister for Food Safety and Pig Recycling please explain to this bewildered consumer why it is considered safe to feed bone-meal to nonruminants when the BSE agent has already proven its ability to vault the species-barrier to infect non-ruminant human beings?
In the meantime, and until the powers-that-be stop regarding BSE as a "food-confidence" issue and start treating it as a public health issue, I for one shall be abstaining from Irish beef - and pork. - Yours, etc.,
Peter Murray, Carrigaline, Co Cork.