Cockroach infestation and mould growth among reasons for 11 food business closures

James Cox

Some of the reasons for food business enforcement orders in January included active cockroach infestation, rodent activity and rodent droppings.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today reported that 11 enforcement orders were served on food businesses during the month of January 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).

Five Closure Orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on:

• Balam Limited (Foods of Non-Animal Origin Processing), 114 Boyne Road, Dublin Industrial Estate, Glasnevin, Dublin 11
• Lismore Golf Club (Restaurant/Café), Ballyin Lower, Lismore, Waterford
• The Turk Grill (Take Away), 23 Grattan Street, Sligo
• Ella’s Heaven Café and Bakery, 95A Talbot Street, Dublin 1
• Miner’s Rest Public House (Closed Area: The external drinks storage room), Ballingary, Tipperary

Three Closure Orders were served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on:

• Xpress Pantry (Closed activities: Part of the activities of the business, its establishments, holdings, or other premises be ceased - The manufacture and wholesale of foods of animal origin and subsequently being placed on the market), Unit 9, Dunshaughlin Business Park, Dunshaughlin, Meath
• Indian Tiffins (Restaurant/Café), 143 Parnell Street, Dublin 1
• Bewley’s Café (Closed activity: Part of the activities of its establishment be ceased, specifically the use of the vacuum packing machine), 78/79 Grafton Street, Dublin 2

Three Prohibition Orders were served under the FSAI Act 1998 on:

• Miner’s Rest Public House, Ballingarry, Tipperary
• La Citadel (Retailer), Unit 4, Glebeview House, River Mall, Swords, Co. Dublin
• M Tee Ventures (Retailer), Unit 1, Glebeview House, River Mall, Main Street, Swords, Co. Dublin

Some of the reasons for the enforcement orders in January include: active cockroach infestation; rodent activity and rodent droppings; raw fish vacuum packed in the same machine where ready-to-eat foods were vacuum packed with no documented cleaning and disinfection procedure or cleaning schedule in place for the vacuum packer; damp and mould growth; personal items such as shoes, a gazebo and scooter in a food production area; complete lack of cleaning; all surfaces stained and dirty with waste food debris and a build-up of dust; no evidence of a food safety management system in place; a business that had not been approved by a competent authority for the operations taking place; unlabelled food items with no traceability information provided.