Closure orders for three sushi takeaways operating from one bedroom
Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, said running an unregistered and therefore unsupervised food business is totally unacceptable and poses a very serious risk to consumers' health.
Three sushi takeaways found to be selling products from the bedroom of a house were among five closure orders served on food businesses last month for breaches of food safety legislation.
In October, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland () issued three Closure Orders in relation to individuals running online unregistered and unsupervised food businesses selling a range of sushi products from the bedroom of a house.
Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, said running an unregistered and therefore unsupervised food business is totally unacceptable and poses a very serious risk to consumers' health.
"In these instances, the unregistered businesses were producing sushi without any hygiene or temperature controls. Sushi is a very high-risk product because it contains raw fish which must be kept chilled to reduce the growth of dangerous bacteria."
Koi Sushi, Nagoya Sushi, and Kyoto Sushi — all with addresses in , Dublin 9 - were ordered to close on October 22.
Dr Bernard Hegarty from the said consumers need to be extremely careful when it comes to sushi.
"Sushi in particular is a high-risk product. It contains raw fish that must be kept chilled to reduce the growth of dangerous bacteria. It also contains cooked rice, a risky ready-to-eat product that must be kept chilled.
"When you have a business that is operating below the radar like that, they haven't had the checks that the official controls provided by the Environmental Health Officer would have provided.
"It is a risk to consumers and in this case posing a grave immediate danger."
The two other businesses issued with the enforcement orders last month were Wholesale, Bantry, Co Cork, and Speedos, 8 Tuckey Street, Cork City.
Dr Byrne reminded consumers to only buy from established food businesses and where there is any doubt, the can be contacted and will follow up on the complaint.
