The reasons behind the orders ranged from active rodent infestation to presence of E. Coli.
Last month, 10 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.
The remaining closure orders across Ireland were served to Cork Oriental Supermarket Ltd, Homesavers in Kerry, Dook’s Fine Foods takeaway in Tipperary, and Gianny’s takeaway in Offaly.
Fish Seafood Deli Ltd in Cork was served with a prohibition order because much of their food was unlabelled, with some fish even being out of date.
Cork Oriental Supermarket Ltd
Cork Oriental Supermarket Ltd faced their closure order due to “rodent droppings” which were spotted at “wall to floor junctions” in the kitchen and storage rooms. Rodent droppings were also found on food containers outside of the kitchen, as well as a dead rat. The closure order was enforced on the 10th February and has not yet been lifted.
Homesavers, Kerry
Homesavers were forced to cease the sale, packaging and/or processing of all food products on the premises on the 9th February, although this was then lifted on the 23rd. According to the report, which you can read in full here, the closure came as a result of “grave and immediate danger to public health” based on the sighting of rodent droppings. Furthermore an “Authorised Officer was prevented / obstructed from carrying out an inspection in order to fully determine the nature and extent of a pest infestation and the extent of any contamination of foodstuffs, after establishing during the inspection the presence of rodent droppings on the premises.”
Dook’s Fine Foods Takeaway, Tipperary
Dook’s Fine Foods Takeaway were served a closure order that was lifted after five days when they found unsatisfactory levels of Escherichia coli (E. coli). in The presence of E.Coli was found in their parsley mayonnaise, beetroot hummus, rocket pesto, and chicken and chorizo bap indicated that faecal pathogens were also present or that poor hygiene practices were occurring during processing and/or post processing.
Gianny’s Takeaway, Offaly
Gianny’s Takeaway based in Offaly were served with a closure order on the 3rd March, which was lifted five days later, predominantly for uncleanliness. The report notes there was meat that was labelled insufficiently and did not indicate how long it had been sitting there.
Dublin businesses
The Dublin businesses issued with closure orders 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 the 16th February from the HSE due to an “active rodent (rats) infestation” by the food premises, evident from droppings. They found gaps which would make the area where food is prepared accessible for rodents. The closure order was later lifted on the 22nd February.
White Rabbit received a closure order in the middle of February, to be lifted just under a week later. The restaurant/café suffered from the same issue as Super Asia Food in that there were gaps that allowed rodent entry; they could see there was an active rodent infestation on-site due to droppings.
Il Capo Takeaway was closed for over a week 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 due to a lack of effective and regular cleaning, amongst other issues; the order was lifted five days later.
The food deli area of Top Oil Gala was served its closure order on the 14th February; 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 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 February closure orders:
“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.
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