12 Enforcement Orders served on food businesses in June

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today reported that 12 Enforcement Orders were served on food businesses during the month of June for breaches of food safety legislation. The Enforcement Orders were issued by Environmental Health Officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE) and officers of the FSAI.

Five Closure Orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on:

• Shi Wang Yun (restaurant/café), 106 Parnell Street, Dublin 1
• Iceland Ireland, Unit 4, Bargaintown Complex, Greencastle Retail Park, Malahide Road, Coolock
• Lynn’s Pantry (foods of non-animal origin processing), Backwood, Cloneygowan, Tullamore, Offaly
• Discoveryland Crèche & Montessori, 14 Newlands, Wexford
• The Music Café, Grattan House, 1 Wellington Quay, Dublin 2

Five Closure Orders were served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on:

• Into the West (public house) (Closed activities: operations from the kitchen only. The serving of beverages from the bar area is not affected by this closure order), Sheepwalk, Frenchpark, Roscommon
• Mizzonis Pizza Café, Unit 4, Sentinel Building, Adamstown, Lucan, Co. Dublin
• Wok on Inn (Closed activities of the business trading as Wok on Inn, and https:// wokon-inn-dublin. com/, https:// www. facebook.com/wokoninn. dublin/), 16 Amiens Street, Dublin 1
• Chef Kebab (take away), Castle Street, Roscommon
• J2 Sushi, Unit 3, Food Court, Jervis Shopping Centre, Mary Street, Dublin 1

Two Prohibition Orders were served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on:

• Iceland Ireland, 6th Floor, South Bank House, Barrow Street House, Dublin 4
• OnlyFish! (take away), 4 Manor Lane, Ovens, Cork

Some of the reasons for the Enforcement Orders in June include: a history of rodent activity with droppings found near fruit juice intended for children; open, ready-to-eat foods such as fresh lettuce suspected as having come into contact with rodents, with a likely risk of Salmonella; heavy cockroach activity in the kitchen, with dozens of live cockroaches spotted moving around food preparation areas, on the walls, floors, fridges, and inside food storage containers; a lack of adequate traceability systems and procedures for all products, undermining consumer safety; a failure to maintain the cold chain with insufficient fridge space to safely store high risk foods such as cooked rice and pasta; rodent droppings noted in the service area and near food storage; risk of cross contamination with ready-to-eat food such as smoked salmon stored next to raw food such as chicken and pork chops; and inadequate ventilation throughout the premises, evident by the large build-up of mould on the walls, ceilings and external doors.

Commenting, Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI, said that any food business found to be failing its legal food safety and hygiene requirements will face the rigours of the law.

“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.

“Cross-contamination of foods has also been an issue with food businesses this month and this is not unacceptable.

“While inspectors are available to answer questions and provide guidance, they have a duty to protect public health and will issue Enforcement Orders when businesses contravene the expected food safety standards.

“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,” said Dr Byrne.

Also, during the month of June, two prosecutions were taken by the HSE in relation to:

• Hu Botanicals Ltd (food supplements), Balsoon Bective, Navan, Meath
• Hu Gold International Wellness and Education Centre Ltd (food supplements), Hu Gold, ecommerce address www. hugold. online, Meath

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.