Four food premises were issued with Closure Orders for breaches of food safety legislation last month.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today reported that two premises in Meath and one each in Louth and Wexford were ordered to close after failing to reach food safety standards.
Some of the reasons for the closures include: raw and cooked food not being separated, waste being transported in the same container as raw and cooked food and the water supply being unfit for human consumption and posing a serious risk to public health.
Other reasons given were no date of minimum durability for highly perishable foods which were supplied to another food business, failure to provide written information of any allergens in food at the point of supply, no running hot water supply for cleaning hands, washing food, or for cleaning and disinfecting working utensils and equipment and poor cleaning throughout the premises.
Here are the list of orders issued for August:
Four Closure Orders were served under the EC (Official Control of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2010 Acto on:
- Riverview Takeaway, Unit B, Molloys Building, Merchants Quay, Drogheda, Louth. Closed activity: handling of raw kebab meat and raw chicken.
- Lotus, 70 South Main Street, Wexford. Closed activity: supply of food to any other business.
- O’Brien’s, Johnstown Village, Johnstown, Navan, Meath. Closed activity: food business except the public bar area serving beverages in disposable containers. All water incorporated into drinks or ice to be brought in from a potable supply.
- Pizza Point, Main Street, Dunshaughlin, Meath.
Commenting on today's report, Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive of the FSAI, said: “It is essential for food businesses to have a strong food safety culture in their business, which can be achieved through ongoing staff training.
"Food businesses need to comply with the law and there are no excuses for failure to do so. Food safety inspectors are continuing to encounter basic errors being made by food businesses which are easily avoidable.”
“Closure Orders are served on food businesses only when a risk to consumer health has been identified or where there are a number of ongoing breaches of food legislation, and that largely tends to relate to serious and grave hygiene or other operational issues.
"These Closure Orders indicate that not all food businesses are complying with the law and as a result, are potentially putting consumers’ health at serious risk.”
Further information on the Enforcement Orders is published on the FSAI’s website at www.fsai.ie
