The Food safety authority of Ireland (FSAI) has said that among the reasons for issuing closure orders to 13 food businesses last month was evidence of a pest infestation in food preparation.
It said this included live cockroaches, slugs, spiders and woodlice. It also said there was evidence of rodent activity, including rodent droppings on shelving used to store food and absence of suitable hand washing facilities.
Liviu Lacatus, located in Coolnacon, Clonroche, Co Wexford was issued with a closure order for reasons including what the FSAI said were evidence of “rodent droppings, dead insects, dirt and dust in the food handling areas, food packaging and equipment used”.
It also said that at the time of inspection, there was no running water (hot or cold) in the premises and there were no wash basins available or designated for hand washing.
A butcher shop in Navan Co, Meath (Navan Asian Store) was closed due to concerns over cross contamination. The FSAI said that a sink and wash-hand basin were not connected to the wastewater system, meaning wastewater would openly discharge onto the floor, shelving and surrounding areas of food preparation.
It said this was “leading to the real risk of contamination to food on the premises”.
A meat stall trading at Balbriggan Market, County Dublin was orderedc to close for reasons including that at the time of inspection, food requiring temperature control for safety including chicken, duck and pork products, “were stored displayed and offered for sale from the food stall without refrigeration or other effective temperature control”.
M&M Meat, also trading at Balbriggan Market, was ordered to close over similar food safety concerns.
Esquires Coffee, located in Navan, Co Meath was ordered to close due to “failure to maintain the cold chain, resulting in high risk ready to eat perishable foods being stored at unsafe temperatures for prolonged periods of time”.
In total, eight closure orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on one food business in Co Meath, four in Co Dublin, two in Wexford and one on Co Monaghan.
Five closure orders were served under the EU (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on two food businesses in Dublin, one in Co Louth, one in Co Kerry and one in Co Meath.
Meanwhile, one prohibition order was served on a meat stall in Balbriggan, Co Dublin.
FSAI Chief Executive Greg Dempsey said: “It is unacceptable that we continue to see enforcement action being required due to basic and repeated breaches of food safety standards.
“Effective food safety management systems, proper hygiene practices, pest control and staff training are fundamental legal obligations of every food business.
“Consumers have a right to safe food, and it is the legal responsibility of food businesses to ensure that food is produced, handled and served safely.”
“It is also concerning that, we have found instances of unregistered food businesses, operating illegally without notifying the competent authority, therefore bypassing essential food safety controls and putting consumers health at risk.”
A full list of the closure orders for June can be found on the FSAI website.