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Five food businesses in Ireland were served with closure orders for breaches of food safety legislation during the month of January, according to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
The affected businesses were located in Waterford, Dublin, Meath, Wexford and Offaly.
The food businesses were issued with closure orders for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998 and the EU (Official Control in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020.
One closure order was served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on:
- Treacys Hotel (Closed area: The main kitchen and upstairs ancillary storage areas and staff facilities), 1 The Quay, Waterford (Issued on 07/01/2022 and lifted on 14/01/2022)
Four closure orders were served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on:
- Feng Yuan Meats, Rear of 8 Meath Street, Dublin 8 (Issued on 28/01/2022)
- Hu Botanicals Ltd (All of the business, its establishments, holdings or other premises (including Aughadreena, Stradone, Co. Cavan) and all social media platforms operated by or on behalf of Hu Botanicals Ltd.), Out Offices, Balsoon Bective, Navan, Meath (Issued on 21/01/2022)
- Kiely's Centra, Rosslare Road, Killinick, Wexford (Issued on 19/01/2022 and lifted on 21/01/2022)
- Café India, Patricks Court, Patricks Street, Tullamore, Offaly (Issued on 12/01/2022 and lifted on 21/01/2022)
One Prohibition Order was served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on:
- Olivia's Food, 380 South Circular, Dublin 8 (Issued on 20/01/2022 and lifted on 02/02/2022)
Under the FSAI Act, 1998, a closure order is served where it is deemed that there is or there is likely to be a grave and immediate danger to public health at or in the premises; or where an Improvement Order is not complied with. Closure orders can refer to the immediate closure of all or part of the food premises, or all or some of its activities.
Under the EU (Official Control in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020, closure orders and prohibition orders are served where there is a non-compliance with food legislation.
Among the reasons stated for the closure orders were a build-up of food debris; black sacks containing a mix of rice and rodent faeces located in a press adjacent to a small dry goods store; rodent droppings observed under shelving; exposed piping and rotten wood in male staff facilities and evidence that cleaning and disinfection was not taking place at a frequency sufficient to avoid any risk of contamination.
There were also reports of dried food and dirt encrusted onto food storage containers and equipment in which food was stored; shelving on which food and food preparation equipment is stored was encrusted with dirt and grease; no labelling on pre-prepared food in refrigerated storage or on foods in frozen storage; an absence of systems and procedures which allow for traceability and frozen meals with high risk ingredients were being produced on site, but were not held at the correct temperature.
“It is unacceptable that we continue to find non-compliance with food safety legislation. Food business operators who do not fulfil their legal obligations to ensure food safety and hygiene are potentially putting their customer’s health at risk," Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI, said.
"Enforcement Orders and most especially Closure Orders and Prohibition Orders are served on food businesses only when a serious risk to consumer health has been identified or where there are a number of ongoing serious breaches of food legislation.
"Enforcement Orders are not served for minor breaches."
