Eight enforcement orders served on food businesses in May

O'Riordan's Bar on Main Street Coachford, in Cork is among the four closure orders issued by the FSAI

Eight enforcement orders were served on food businesses during the month of May 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.

The Enforcement Orders were issued by Environmental Health Officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE).

O’Riordan’s Bar on Main Street Coachford, in Cork is among the four closure orders issued by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) last month. Two dry goods/cold storerooms off the bar have been closed.

Meanwhile, three closure orders were served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on:

• Maneki (restaurant/café), 43 Dawson Street, Dublin 2
• KFC, 16 Westmoreland Street, Dublin 2
• Kebabish (take away), Main Street, Bruree, Limerick

One Improvement Order was served on:

• Little Neros (restaurant/café), The Square, Abbeyfeale, Limerick

Some of the reasons for the enforcement orders served in May include: a container of cooked chicken left on a dirty sink near pools of blood, raw chicken left on top of lettuce; surfaces encased in a thick layer of dirt and grease; multiple cases of rodent infestations, with empty pasta bags containing mouse droppings and a rodent caught in a trap; inadequate pest-proofing with a high number of possible entry points; sushi not being prepared safely, with a lack of appropriate handwashing procedure and no sterilisation of food containers following use; food thawed at unsafe temperatures; a lack of necessary handwashing facilities; foodstuffs stored without date or name labels, with trays of cooked rice stored without a label and pepperoni slices and other pizza toppings stored uncovered; staff not properly trained and lacking clean and appropriate clothing.

Dr Pamela Byrne, chief executive, FSAI, said that food businesses must take care to prepare, store and defrost foods at appropriate temperatures.

“Care should be taken when preparing all foods, particularly for high-risk foods like sushi which needs specific food safety controls,” said Byrne. “Improper defrosting of food has been noted by Environmental Health Officers. Defrosting should only be undertaken in refrigerators, as otherwise bacteria can multiply at room temperatures.

“As noted in our recent Breakfast Bite webinar on setting up a food business, all food businesses must adhere to mandatory food legislation, regardless of how long established they may be,” said Byrne. “A failure to do so can pose a grave and immediate risk to public health. By following best practices for food safety and hygiene, food businesses can produce safe food. Also, consumers can rest assured that enforcement measures will be applied to food businesses that do not meet their legal obligations.”

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