“Some of these premises have demonstrated a complete lack of concern for the health of both their customers and their staff who eat at or work in their establishments.”

The observation of sewage and waste in a rear yard adjacent to refuse bins, thereby risking a transfer of faecal matter to the kitchen, was one of the reasons outlined for the issuing of six closure orders and one improvement order to food businesses in Ireland in April. Amongst the other reasons outlined by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) for the orders were the presence of cigarette ash, butts and broken glass throughout a bar premises and the observation that the surfaces of all cooking equipment in another establishment were coated with congealed grease. Six closure orders and one improvement order were served on food businesses during the month of April for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998 and the EC (Official Control of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2010. The enforcement orders were issued by environmental health officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE). One closure order was served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on:

• Spicy Hut (Take Away), Main Street, Carrigart, Donegal (Order served on 11 April, order lifted on 16 April)

Five closure orders were served under the EC (Official Control of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2010 on:

• Freestyle Asian Restaurant, 23-24 North Main Street, Cork (Order served on 25 April)
• Ceann Sibéal Hotel (Closed area: kitchen, outside vegetable preparation area), Ballyferriter, Tralee, Kerry (Order served on 17 April, order lifted on 18 April)
• Pangan Taste of Asian (Restaurant/Café), Unit 1, Block B, River Village, Monksland, Athlone, Roscommon (Order served on 16 April, order lifted on 23 April)
• Dragon Chinese take away, Main Street, Dunshaughlin, Meath (Order served on 16 April, order lifted on 17 April)
• Paud O’Neills (Pub) (Closed area: music bar venue located in the back yard of the premises), Langford Street, Killorglin, Kerry (Order served on 11 April, order lifted on 12 April)

One improvement order was served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on:

• Roma Take Away, Unit 3 Rathgael, Deansrath Shopping Centre, Clondalkin, Dublin 22

Commenting on the FSAI orders issued throughout April, Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive of the FSAI, emphasised that some food businesses are not providing adequate regard for their customers if they are not maintaining clean and hygienic premises. “The enforcement orders served in April were mainly due to premises being found to have poor and, in some cases, very low hygiene standards in place,” said Byrne. “Some of these premises have demonstrated a complete lack of concern for the health of both their customers and their staff who eat at or work in their establishments. These inadequate food safety practices are completely unacceptable in any food business. “In addition to the poor hygiene standards that were found, some premises also had no food allergen information available to the consumer which can pose a serious risk to people’s health.” “I would remind food businesses that the legal responsibility for producing safe food lies firmly with them. It is disappointing to see that some food businesses are failing to operate stringent food safety practices to ensure that the food they are producing and selling to their customers is safe to eat.” Details of the food businesses served with enforcement orders are published on the FSAI website. Closure orders and improvement orders will remain listed on the website for a period of three months from the date of when a premises is adjudged to have corrected its food safety issue, with prohibition orders being listed for a period of one month.