THREE FOOD BUSINESSES have been served with closure orders in the past month by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
The closures were issued for businesses in Dublin and Cavan and they concerned issues such as rat activity, lack of pest control and chicken defrosting in a dangerous manner.
The closure orders were served on:
Zing by Chaska was ordered to close as FSAI inspectors found that adequate procedures to control pests were not in place.
The report said that recent rat activity was noted close to an area where food was stored and rats had direct opportunity to contaminate food and equipment.
“Cleaning equipment intended to clean the food premises was stored in a dirty shared external area and there has been recent rat activity noted,” the inspector said.
Fredis Pizzeria in Bailieborough was ordered to close after the FSAI found HACCP (Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point) procedures – which help ensure that food produce is safe – were not in place.
Pest control procedures were also found to be lacking and “many flies” were observed in the premises.
“The poor hygiene standards could provide ideal conditions for an infestation in the premises. Doors were left open allowing for the ingress of flies and rodents,” the report noted.
The closure order on New Victoria take-away on Dublin’s Dorset Street noted that frozen cooked chicken was defrosting in containers of standing water at an equipment sink.
This meant that the water and the surface of the chicken had warmed to a dangerous temperature (12 degrees Celsius) whilst the core of the chicken was still frozen.
“The hand basin was obstructed and appeared to be unused suggesting that food handlers are not washing their hands,” the FSAI inspector added.
‘Reflects poorly’
FSAI chief executive Dr Pamela Byrne said that food businesses have no excuses for non-compliance with food safety legislation and that repeat offenders will not be tolerated.
“We sometimes see repeat offenders who have received Enforcement Orders before and this is a cause of concern. Food businesses need to learn from their mistakes and ensure that they do not fall short of their legal requirements,” Dr Byrne said.
“Non-compliance by food businesses will not be tolerated and all breaches of food safety legislation will be dealt with to the full extent of the law.
This reflects poorly on the entire food industry and can discourage consumer confidence.
“Food businesses have a clear duty to consumers and themselves – food safety is paramount, and it is unacceptable that basic procedures like handwashing and storing food at the correct temperature are not properly followed,” Dr Byrne added.
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