Popular chocolate cafe ordered to close after 'large number of rodent droppings' found

Tomas Doherty

A popular chocolate cafe in Co Dublin was forced to close last month after inspectors found a "large number of rodent droppings" on the premises.

Le Chocolat de Frèd, on 96 Georges Street Lower in Dún Laoghaire, was one of several businesses served with closure orders by food safety officers in March.

The cafe describes itself as "heaven for chocolate lovers" and has a rating of 4.7 out of 5 on Google Reviews.

Details published by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) on Wednesday said rodent droppings were noted on the floor and shelving brackets underneath the cafe's pastry serveover, inside the press containing the water filtration system, on shelving beside a container of chocolate spread, and inside the cupboard containing the boiler.

The HSE inspector said "adequate measures" had not been taken to control pests on the premises. All of this presented "a grave and immediate danger" to food safety, the closure order said.

Elsewhere, Shangri La Asian Cuisine on Blackhorse Avenue in Dublin 7 was ordered to close after an inspector saw raw meat being prepared in a sink that was being used to wash food, equipment and hands.

Staff at the restaurant used "inadequate hand washing procedures" and did not demonstrate "adequate knowledge of the basic principles of food safety", the inspector found.

Super Marios takeaway in Tullamore, Co Offaly, was found on the day of inspection to have an overflow of foul water into the food preparation area.

Other food businesses ordered to close in March were:

• Kingdom of Sweets, 15 Westmoreland Street, Dublin 2
• Babylon Kebab House, 92-93 Irishtown, Clonmel, Tipperary
• Royal Caterers, Unit 27C, Ashbourne Business Centre, Ballybin Road, Ashbourne, Meath
• Cork Oriental Supermarket, 13 Dalton's Avenue, Cork
• Hilan Chinese and Korean BBQ Restaurant, 45 Capel Street, Dublin 1
• Munch Box, 1 Whitworth Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9

Dr Pamela Byrne, chief executive of the FSAI, said breaches of food safety legislation pose a real danger to consumer health.

"March saw a high number of Enforcement Orders and some of the reasons listed demonstrate totally inadequate hygiene standards. Consumers have a right to safe food and this legal obligation sits with the food business operators.

"These food businesses are damaging the reputation of the food industry as a whole and can impact the trust that consumers have in the food they eat."