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Cork

09th Dec 2019

Dead rodent on premises of Cork restaurant resulted in closure order

James Fenton

Cork restaurant Sajna was served a closure order last month

Cork restaurant Sajna was forced to close last month due to the presence of a dead rodent on the premises.

The closure order was issued on November 19 under the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act 1998. The reasons given were ‘the presence of a dead rodent in the dry goods store which opens directly to the kitchen’ and ‘the presence of rodent droppings in the dry goods store’ of the Cork restaurant.

The order adds that ‘rodent droppings in a food business can pose a grave and immediate risk to public health.’ The Cobh establishment was ordered to remove any evidence of previous rodent activity and to clean and disinfect the entire food preparation and storage areas.  Sajna’s closure order was lifted four days later, on November 23.

Sajna is just one of a number of Irish outlets to be served with closure orders in November, with Hilan Chinese and Korean BBQ Restaurant in Dublin also ordered to close due to the presence of cockroaches.

November was a record month for FSAI enforcement orders, with Chief Executive Dr Pamela Byrne commenting: “November had the highest amount of Enforcement Orders in the one calendar month which the FSAI has seen since the legislation was introduced in 1998. 23 Enforcement Orders over a one-month period is totally unacceptable.

“The presence of rodents and other pests presents a grave and immediate danger to consumers’ health and food businesses must put in place more robust pest control systems.”

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