Two Dublin food businesses issued with closure orders in January

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today reported that one Closure Order and one Prohibition Order were served on food businesses in Dublin during the month of January for breaches of food safety legislation.

Overall, there were six businesses across the country that were issued with orders stemming from routine inspections.

A Closure Order was served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 to Feng Yuan Meats, on Meath Street, Dublin 8 and one Prohibition Order was served under the FSAI Act, 1998 to Olivia’s Food, on South Circular Road, Dublin 8.

Some of the reasons why the orders were issued include; a build-up of food debris; black sacks containing a mix of rice and rodent faeces located in a press adjacent to a small dry goods store; rodent droppings observed under shelving; exposed piping and rotten wood in male staff facilities; and evidence that cleaning and disinfection was not taking place at a frequency sufficient to avoid any risk of contamination.

Dried food and dirt encrusted onto food storage containers and equipment in which food was stored was also observed as well as shelving on which food and food preparation equipment is stored was encrusted with dirt and grease; and no labelling on pre-prepared food in refrigerated storage or on foods in frozen storage.

The order was issued to Olivia’s Foods on January 20 and lifted on February 2 while the order issued to Feng Yuan Meats has not yet been lifted having been served on January 28.

Commenting, Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI, warned that the legal onus is on food businesses to ensure they fully comply with food safety legislation at all times.

“It is unacceptable that we continue to find non-compliance with food safety legislation,” she said.

“Food business operators who do not fulfil their legal obligations to ensure food safety and hygiene are potentially putting their customer’s health at risk.

“Enforcement Orders and most especially Closure Orders and Prohibition Orders are served on food businesses only when a serious risk to consumer health has been identified or where there are a number of ongoing serious breaches of food legislation. Enforcement Orders are not served for minor breaches,” said Dr Byrne.

Dr Byrne stated that extensive resources are available to assist businesses comply with their obligations around food safety.

She urged businesses to take full advantage of the information and support provided by the inspectorate and the FSAI to ensure that they have the correct food safety management systems in place.

Details of the food businesses served with Enforcement Orders are published on the FSAI’s website at www.fsai.ie.

Closure Orders and Improvement Orders will remain listed in the enforcement reports 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.