WHAT do you make of the "heat" being turned on the home-baking done by members of the Women's Institute? Perhaps you feel as I do that it is political correctness gone mad.

The suggestion, which is now more than a suggestion, is that because the kitchens of the good ladies and others who bake cakes and biscuits for things like coffee mornings to raise funds are nor formally inspected, their baking should be banned. This has gone on for years so why in heaven's name should it be banned now? I'll tell you the reason; it is because officials have branded the cakes a potential health hazard.

It is my view that a lot of people could have taken harm for want of some of the baking done by the good ladies, but I never heard of anyone coming to any harm through eating any of their cakes.

It seems that every month the ladies from the WI took into an Essex hospital some of their home-made treats such as fruit cakes, Victoria sponge cakes and tarts, all freshly home-baked, to which the patients always looked forward.

But not any more, as the practice has been banned by officials at Saffron Walden Community Hospital, because it is thought to pose a potential health hazard. The hospital trust claims this is because the member's kitchens have not been inspected, and therefore breach guidelines.

With hospital super bugs claiming up to 20,000 lives a year, the WI ladies are hopping mad, and rightly so. They feel insulted by the suggestion that their baking could put lives at risk, and say it is a case of silly bureaucracy being brought in at the expense of common sense.

The hospital trust claims it acted on advice from environmental health officers and the Department of Health.

A spokesman is reported to have said "We are not in anyway suggesting the cakes the WI has kindly provided us are unsafe. However, the trust has to stick to and adhere to strict hygiene criteria and, without inspecting the kitchens of WI members who prepared the cakes, we cannot eliminate all potential risks." They go on to say they have no authority to inspect a private individual's kitchen. They also make the point that the patient's safety is their top priority.

A spokesman for Uttlesford District Council's environmental health department said "Everyone has to have a hazard assessment done when making and selling cakes to old people. These are established guidelines."

The Department of Health said it was up to individual hospitals to decide food policy as long as they met safety regulations.

I'm afraid I don't know the correct way forward, but I could give you the Swift way. I would suggest to the WI that they invite the ones behind the policy and their advisers to appear on the platform at the Women's Institute AGM just as they invited Tony Blair to appear.

If the AGM is a long way off perhaps they might consider holding a special meeting. Either way my money is on the ladies.

Dialect word: Frap meaning a sharp sound.

Thought for the day: If you are expecting a visit by bureaucrats, roll out the red tape.