THE FOOD SAFETY Authority of Ireland (FSAI) issued ten enforcement orders, including nine closure orders, to food businesses during the month of March.

The FSAI said the venues, which included restaurants, cafes and retailers, were shut for breaches of Irish and EU food safety legislation.

One closure order was given in violation of the FSAI Act, 1998 while nine orders – eight closure notices and one prohibition notice – were issued under EU regulations.

Closure orders may be lifted when the area in the premises in question has improved to the satisfaction of inspectors.

The restaurant in violation of Irish law was:

• Le Chocolat de Frèd – 96 Georges Street Lower, Dun Laoghaire

The FSAI said “a large volume of rodent droppings” was found in several areas of the restaurant, including shelving underneath the pastry serveover and inside the press containing the water filtration system.

The inspector said a “grave and immediate danger” existed to the restaurant’s food as rodents “transmit harmful pathogens through their droppings and urine”.

Those closed for breaching European regulations included:

• Shangri La Asian Cuisine – Blackhorse Avenue, Cabra, Dublin 7
• Super Marios – High Street, Tullamore, Offaly
• Kingdom of Sweets – 15 Westmoreland Street, Dublin 2
• Babylon Kebab House – 92-93 Irishtown, Clonmel, Tipperary
• Royal Caterers – Unit 27C, Ashbourne Business Centre, Ballybin Road, Ashbourne, Meath
• Cork Oriental Supermarket (Closed area: Kitchen and kitchen storage area) – 13 Dalton’s Avenue, Cork
• Munch Box – 1 Whitworth Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9
• Hilan Chinese and Korean BBQ Restaurant – 45 Capel Street, Dublin 1

Shangri La Asian Cuisine was closed after inspectors found a significant lack of procedures to control cross contamination. Issues included raw meat being prepared in a sink that was being used to wash food, equipment and hands.

The inspector added: “Both chefs were observed handling raw meat, cooked meat, salads, vegetables and noodles with their hands. Staff were observed only briefly rinsing their hands with water. At no point during the inspection did either one of the chefs wash their hands with soap and water.”

In Super Marios, inspectors said there was a “persistent and recurring failure” to comply with the food safety legislation. This included the overflow of “foul water” into the food preparation area, which caused a contamination risk.

Kingdom of Sweets also had issues with pest control, with the FSAI finding “fresh rat droppings” in the basement of the premises. It said while the front of the basement is “blocked up with wood and expanding foam”, this was not deemed sufficient to deal with the issue.

At Babylon Kebab House, inspectors found the premises was not maintained in a clean condition. “The lack of adequate, regular, and thorough cleaning was evident in all parts of the food business, particularly in the food cooking and food storage areas,” the FSAI report said.

Royal Caterers was another business with cleanliness problems. The FSAI said dirt and food debris were observed on “walls, floors, doors, touch points, equipment, fridges, freezers, surfaces and food storage containers in the kitchen”. It also said there was “no monitoring of foodstuffs at critical control points” to ensure maintenance of the cold chain.

Various problems were discovered at Cork Oriental Supermarket, including the fact that “burnt food debris and grease” was found behind the cooking station in the kitchen. Multiple utensils and containers were also found to be “encrusted with dried food debris”.

Munch Box was closed as the FSAI found the operator “failed to maintain the premises in a clean condition”. “There was evidence that articles and equipment coming into contact with food were not effectively cleaned and disinfected,” it said.

Hilan Chinese and Korean BBQ Restaurant was shut after “no refrigerated or freezer unit” was found to be operating “effectively” at the time of the inspection. It found that raw meat was stored at temperatures of up to 12.6 degrees Celsius in the restaurant’s walk-in fridge. Normal fridge temperatures are typically 5 degrees and below. In a small under-counter freezer, raw meat on skewers were found at 16.1 degrees. (Hilan Chinese and Korean BBQ Restaurant was also the business served with a prohibition order by the FSAI).

Dr Pamela Byrne, chief executive of the FSAI, said March “saw a high number of enforcement orders”.

“Consumers have a right to safe food and this legal obligation sits with the food business operators,” she said.

“These food businesses are damaging the reputation of the food industry as a whole and can impact the trust that consumers have in the food they eat.”