Two Capel Street food businesses served closure orders last month due to ‘rodent infestation’

By Katy Thornton

“Consumers must be able to trust that the food they are being served is safe to eat and it is unacceptable that some food businesses fail to fulfil this duty."

Last month, nine Irish food businesses were served closure orders, according to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, five of which were in Dublin. This included White Rabbit on Capel Street, Super Asia Food on Capel Street, Il Capo takeaway on Talbot Street, East Oriental Take Out in Dublin 8, and the food service deli in Top Oil Gala in Finglas. Super Asia Food received its closure order on 16 February from the HSE due to an "active rodent (rats) infestation" in the food premises, evident from droppings. The HSE found gaps that would make the area where food is prepared accessible for rodents. The closure order was later lifted on 22 February. White Rabbit also was issued a closure order on 16 February that was lifted on 22 February. The restaurant and café suffered from the same issue as Super Asia Food in that there were gaps that allowed rodent entry and the HSE could see there was an active rodent infestation on-site due to droppings. Il Capo takeaway was closed between 16 - 24 February with their closure order due to rodent droppings, with a "dead mouse" found in a trap beneath shelving used to store food. East Oriental Take Out was served its closure order on 16 February due to a lack of "effective" and "regular" cleaning, amongst other issues. The order was lifted on 21 February. The food deli area of Top Oil Gala was served its closure order on 14 February and it has yet to be lifted. There was no hot water or soap to allow sufficient cleaning of staff hands, as well as several damp areas, and a significant risk of contamination. A further four businesses across Ireland faced closure orders in February, as well as one prohibition order. Chief Executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) Dr Pamela Byrne said this of the closure orders during the months:

"Consumers must be able to trust that the food they are being served is safe to eat and it is unacceptable that some food businesses fail to fulfil this duty. Storage and food preparation areas must be properly cleaned and maintained to avoid potential contamination of food. It is also important that businesses have proper pest control procedures in place and that they are regularly checking that there are no pests in their premises. Earlier this month we ran a free webinar on managing and monitoring pest control procedures in food businesses to address this reoccurring issue. This webinar can be accessed on the FSAI website."

You can read all the reports of the various closures orders in more detail on the FSAI website here. This article originally appeared on LovinDublin