TEN BUSINESSES WERE issued with closure orders last month by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
Six closures were issued for businesses in Dublin, two were issued in Roscommon, and one closure order was issued in Wexford and in Offaly.
The first five closures were issued under the FSAI Act 1998 and were served to:
The other five closures were issued under the European Union Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation Regulations, 2020 and were served to:
Shi Yun Wang was found to have had “heavy” cockroach activity in the kitchen including “live cockroaches moving around food preparation areas, at multiple life stages”, according to the HSE Food Hygiene Inspection report.
Cockroaches were found on the walls, floors, kitchen equipment such as fridges, packaging surfaces, and on the inside of food storage containers. Dead cockroaches were also found in the same areas.
Additionally, the inspection found that the cockroaches had been in contact with high-risk food such as noodles and cucumber and concluded that it’s “likely to be contaminated with harmful pathogens”.
Iceland Ireland, in Coolock, was closed after their inspection found “heavy rodent (mouse) activity” in the building.
Among the evidence to suggest this was, a recently deceased mouse was found under a shelving unit, fresh mouse droppings were found “in multiple areas of the store”, and stock items that had both bite marks “in a manner consistent with a mouse” on them and faeces in them.
The report suggests that open produces, such as fresh lettuce, was likely to have come into contact with mice. The inspector determined that the presence of a mouse possessed a “grave and immediate risk to public health”.
Last month, the FSAI issued a notice for an immediate withdrawal and recall notice on frozen food of “animal origin” from Iceland because of ongoing paperwork issues.
Dirty counter tops and “poor conditions of all food contact surfaces”, found by the inspector for Lynn’s Pantry, found that while it wasn’t “an exhaustive list” the failure to protect food from contamination posed or was likely to pose a grave and immediate danger to public health.
In particular, the business in Offaly, had its fly killing unit located “directly above the food preparation table which contained open food”, according to the report.
A Wexford creche, Discoveryland Creche and Montessori, was issued a closure order after its report found rodent activity and droppings in the premises, next to food and juice cartons.
Additionally, high risk foods were left on a window sill for up to two and a half hours and the report also found a “lack of adequate cleaning and disinfection” measures were taken for food contact surfaces.
The Music Café, on Wellington Quay in Dublin, was found to have a number of holes in its walls and ceilings and rodent activity and droppings were noted by the inspection.
All kitchen operations were closed at Into The West, in Roscommon, after the inspector found that food preparation areas were “badly maintained”. In particular, the report noted that all the chopping boards were badly damaged and “not easily cleanable”.
Mould, foul odours, and a number of cleaning and sanitations violations were also noted by the report of the Roscommon pub.
Mizzonis Pizza, in Lucan, Co Dublin, was issued a closure order after evidence of rodent activity in the dry goods, ice-cream service, and front-counter service areas was noted in its inspection.
A number of food, cleaning, equipment and pest control violations were noted by the inspector for Wok On In in Dublin. Most notably, meat was being thawed in “an unhygienic basement that was in a poor state of repair and condition” and cooked at the incorrect temperatures.
Chef Kebab‘s entire premises in Roscommon was found not to have the correct layout to “permit adequate maintenance and cleaning” - with its report noting numerous breaches in cleaning and sanitation, food handling, personal hygiene, pest control, traceability, food safety, prevention of contamination and training and supervision of staff.
The report also said: “Hot water was not available at the wash hand basin in the staff toilet at the outset of the inspection as the hot water supply had not been switched on prior to work starting thus proper handwashing could not have been undertaken by staff before handling food.”
Lastly, J2 Sushi in Dublin’s Jervis Centre, had a number of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) violations, including the failure to identify the hazards involved with serving, storing and cooling raw fish products.
Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive of the FSAI, said that any food business found to be failing its legal food safety and hygiene requirements will face the rigours of the law.
Byrne said: “When a food business fails to combat pest infestations, maintain the cold chain, or provide sufficient traceability information for food products on their premises, they are putting the health of their customers and staff at risk.”
“Consumers have a right to safe food and we call on all food businesses to ensure they are fulfilling this requirement on a daily basis,” Byrne added.
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