Sir; re Retailers called on to push real', The Grocer, November 18, p12, which reported on The Campaign for Real Food's call to government to promote fresh "real" food. Founder Tom Findlay said: "There's so much improperly cooked processed food being consumed." What rubbish! There is absolutely no evidence to suggest this. Manufacturers spend millions of pounds making products that are tasty, nutritious and simple to cook. Findlay is trying to encourage everyone to follow his personal preference for "cooking from scratch" by wildly claiming that to do otherwise is unsafe! Secondly, no-one would deny that improper cooking of a frozen (or any) burger could lead to food poisoning. But this has nothing to do with the burger being frozen or processed. When the meat for a burger is minced, any bacteria on the outside would get spread throughout the burger. That is why you can have a rare steak but a burger must be cooked all the way through to get rid of any harmful bacteria. Also, what is "real food"? Is it not bread, houmous, tinned sardines, grapefruit juice, sun dried tomatoes, pasta, wholemeal rice, yogurt and the thousands of other products lining the supermarket shelves? Visit www.foodanddrink.org.uk for more information about the Food and Drink Federation's promotion of a healthy lifestyle and good food hygiene practices. Martin Patterson Director of communications Food and Drink Federation {{LETTERS }}