Cockroaches and mouse droppings found as twelve food businesses forced to close in March

Twelve food businesses across Ireland were ordered to close last month for failing to adhere to food safety legislation.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) reported on Tuesday that Environmental Health Officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE) served twelve Closure Orders and two Prohibition Orders on food businesses during the month of March for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998 and the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020.

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Eight Closure Orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on:

• Kebab House 66 (Service Sector), Moore Street Mall, 58 Parnell Street, Dublin 1
• Georgian Delight (Restaurant/ Café), Unit 3, Moore Street Mall, 58-66 Parnell Street, Dublin 1
• Dailo Nepali Kitchen (Restaurant/ Café), Kitchen 4, Moore Street Mall, 58-66 Parnell Street, Dublin 1
• Tiramisu Mania (Manufacturer), Moore Street Mall, 58 Parnell Street, Dublin 1
• Spicy Bite (Restaurant/ Café), Unit 1, Moore Mall, Moore Street, Dublin 1
• Glanmore Foods Limited, Grange Community College (Service Sector), Grange Abbey Road, Donaghmede, Dublin 13
• Eskimo Pizza Bandon (Closed area: the potato peeling room at the rear of the premises) (Take Away), 1 St Patrick’s Quay, Bandon, Cork
• Eurospar (Retailer), 25-27 Annesley Bridge Road, Fairview, Dublin 3

Four Closure Orders were served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on:

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• Bruno Gomes (Wholesaler/ Distributor), A food business in operation from a domestic dwelling at Ferndale, Navan, Meath
• Arsh Bazzar (Closed area: Butcher area) (Retailer), 6 Mary Street, Clonmel, Tipperary
• Mars Pizza (Take Away), Coolbeg, Kildimo, Limerick
• Meet Brazil (Closed area: the kitchen area upstairs serving the restaurant and take away. The retail area downstairs can remain open.) (Retailer), Castle Hill, Enniscorthy, Wexford

Two Prohibition Orders were served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on:

• Al-Eman Halal Shop Limited (Butcher Shop/Retailer), 21 Irishtown, Clonmel Tipperary
• Pinoy Sari Sari (Retailer), 25-26 Mary Street, Dublin City

Among the reasons for the Enforcement Orders in March are: active cockroach infestation; dead cockroaches noted inside a fridge; evidence of rodent activity; dead mouse in a cockroach trap; rodent droppings under the sink area; meat being air dried in a bedroom; no suitable hand washing facilities available to food workers; no hot water or soap for hand washing; cleaning materials stored in dirty stagnant water; thick waste discharge covering an entire floor in a kitchen; equipment observed to be heavily soiled and in an unclean condition; insufficient traceability information; no food safety management system or procedures in place for food safety; no commercial documents or other suitable records to establish the traceability of the foods.

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Commenting today, Mr Greg Dempsey, Chief Executive, FSAI, reminded food businesses of the importance of having proper food safety management systems in place:

“It is disappointing that we continue to see enforcement action being necessary due to fundamental breaches. Inspectors are finding recurring incidents of pest infestations and unhygienic practices in food businesses.

“These are entirely preventable non-compliances when proper food safety management systems are in place. Consumers have a right to safe food. Under food law, it is the legal responsibility of food businesses to ensure that the food they sell to the consumer is safe to eat.”

“If anyone experiences unfit food, poor hygiene standards or notices a breach of food law in a food business, we encourage them to contact us via our online complaint form at www.fsai.ie/makeitbetter.

“Reporting inappropriate and unsafe food practices provides us with information that we can act upon. We strongly encourage food businesses to continuously improve their food safety standards via regular training, availing of our free online learning portal, as well as promoting a strong culture of food safety within their businesses,” added Mr Dempsey.

Separately, during the month of March one prosecution was taken by the Health Service Executive in relation to:

• Sheela Palace Foodstall (Trading at Kerala House Carnival, Fairyhouse Racecourse, Ratoath, Co Meath) Vela, Liffey Valley Complex, Dublin 22

Details of the food businesses served with Enforcement Orders are published on the FSAI’s website at www.fsai.ie.

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Closure Orders and Improvement Orders will remain listed in the enforcement reports on the website for a period of three months from the date of when a premises is adjudged to have corrected its food safety issue, with Prohibition Orders being listed for a period of one month.

More information on closure orders can be found here.