THREE FOOD BUSINESSES were given closure orders in March by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) over issues such as filthiness, cat litter in food preparation areas and lack of registration.

Businesses served with food closure orders were:

• Céile Homemade Catering, 4 Deerpark Drive, Kiltipper, Dublin 2
• Lean & Green Meals, c/o Navan Soup Kitchen,16A Brews Hill, Navan, Co. Meath
• Bay View (Take Away), Main Street, Carrigart, Co. Donegal

Two prohibition orders were served to:

• Lean & Green Meals, c/o Navan Soup Kitchen,16A Brews Hill, Navan, Co. Meath
• Brazuca Market, 145 Parnell Street, Dublin 1

The report for Bay View in Donegal said the premises was “filthy throughout” at the time of inspection.

Food debris was on the floor of the main food preparation area and grease, dirt and food residue was on food contact surfaces, walls, and shelving in all areas of the business premises.

“Flyscreens affixed to the rear external door and to the window in the kitchen that opens into the street to the front of the premises were filthy with grease and numerous dead insects,” it added.

The report said that the ventilation canopy over the cooking equipment was filthy with grease and grime. There were no food stock control procedures and staff were unable to confirm the age of food held on the premises. 

The report for Céile Homemade Catering in Dublin said it is operating without registration or approval and ordered that the business cease trading and using social media for marketing.

Among the issues listed were a tray of cat litter and an ashtray in the food preparation area along with a poor standard of cleanliness.

Foods were also being stored in a fridge located within the sanitary accommodation and there were “inadequate procedures in place to prevent domestic animals from having access to the food preparation area.”

The business also sold food without indicating written particulars of any allergens, which could potentially cause a life threatening allergic reaction.

The order for Lean & Green Meals in Meath said the business had not been registered or approved by a competent authority.

It said the operator had no HACCP based food safety management procedures or associated monitoring records available for inspection.

There was no evidence that the operator had identified food safety hazards including, the potential growth of pathogenic microorganisms or the presence of allergens.

Discussing the orders, Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI, emphasised it is the responsibility of the food business owner to ensure that their business is operating in line with the legal obligations and requirements under food law. 

“It is wholly unacceptable that some food businesses are choosing to operate outside of the law and also that they did not register their business before they started operating,” she said.

All food business owners, big or small, whether trading from a business premises, in the home, from a mobile unit, food truck and/or online, must be registered and must be operating in line with food safety and hygiene legislation. 

“It is the responsibility of the food business owner to ensure the food they produce and sell is safe to eat, and that consumers are not misled. No matter where, how or from whom consumers buy food, it must be safe to eat, produced in an approved or registered food establishment and comply with food law,” she added.