An infestation of cockroaches was among the reasons an Indian restaurant in Dublin's city centre was ordered to shut last month.
The Food Safety Authority (FSA) issued two businesses with closure orders in June – Dera on Parnell Street in Dublin and Giovanni's in Jenkinstown, Co Louth.
Dera was ordered to shut after cockroaches were found in the kitchen where food was prepared, cooked and handled.
“Live and dead cockroaches were noted on the floor beneath the food preparation fridge,” the inspection report said.
“The above conditions lead to a serious risk of food being contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, likely to render the food unfit for humans.”
Meanwhile, Giovanni’s was issued with an improvement order last October but failed to comply within the specified timeframe.
“Food handlers did not maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness by frequently and effectively washing hands, in particular after activities which could lead to a risk of contamination of the foodstuffs,” the order said.
Commenting today, Dr Pamela Byrne, the chief executive of the FSA, emphasised the need for all food businesses to have adequate pest control systems and robust food hygiene practices in place, particularly as restaurants and other food businesses begin to reopen following the lifting of restrictions due to the current public health pandemic.
“Many food businesses are reopening to customers having been closed for a number of months. Food business owners need to ensure that there hasn’t been any pest activity in or around their premises," she said.
"It is not acceptable that last month’s Closure Orders showed that a number of food workers at these food businesses did not have even a basic knowledge or training in food safety and hygiene,” Dr Byrne said.
