Mouse seen in Cork bar as food safety body issues eight orders in May

FSAI inspectors saw a live mouse in a storeroom off the main bar in O'Riordan's in Coachford. File picture: PA

Dead rodent carcasses were found in the ceiling and basement of one food premises in May, as eight businesses were served with enforcement orders by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).

The FSAI is responsible for the safety, integrity and authenticity of the food chain by detecting, deterring and preventing breaches of food law and taking action to protect consumers.

Businesses in Dublin, Cork and Limerick were issued orders in May.

Four closure orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on:

• Long Thanh, 14 North Strand Road, Dublin (closed May 22, reopened May 26)
• Saint Ita's Hospital (Closed area: Seascapes Restaurant only), Portrane Road, Dublin (closed May 12, reopened May 15)
• New Century, 6 Prospect Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 9 (closed May 2, reopened May 8)
• O'Riordan's Bar (Closed area: two dry goods/cold storerooms off bar), Main Street, Coachford, Cork (closed May 3, reopened May 15)

Long Thanh was found to have "a level of hygiene consistent with a lack of effective cleaning routine", with floors, drains and storage areas all found to be "very dirty".

A rodent was caught in a trap located beneath the servery counter in the restaurant portion of Saint Ita's Hospital.

Meanwhile, there was "absolutely no evidence of monitoring controls being implemented for safe production of food" in New Century takeaway.

FSAI inspectors saw a live mouse in a storeroom off the main bar in O'Riordan's, while mouse droppings were recorded at multiple spots across the premises, including in an empty pasta bag. All four businesses have since reopened. 

Elsewhere, three closure orders were served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on:

• Maneki, 43 Dawson Street, Dublin (closed May 31, reopened June 1)
• KFC, 16 Westmoreland Street, Dublin (closed May 29, reopened June 1) 
• Kebabish, Main Street, Bruree, Limerick (closed May 11, reopened May 15)

Kebabish was found to have cobwebs and dead insects were noted in hard-to-reach areas of the dry goods stores, while a number of flies were present in food storage and preparation areas indicative of poor hygiene controls.

Dead rodent carcasses were located in the ceiling and basement of the Westmoreland Street KFC, while Maneki was told to close due to "a recurring non-compliance" relating to food storage. Those three businesses have since reopened. 

One improvement order was served on Little Neros (restaurant/café), The Square, Abbeyfeale, Limerick, relating to the removal of mould from sinks.

Dr Pamela Byrne, chief executive at the FSAI, said that food businesses must take care to prepare, store and defrost foods at appropriate temperatures.

She said: "Care should be taken when preparing all foods, particularly for high-risk foods like sushi which needs specific food safety controls. Improper defrosting of food has been noted by Environmental Health Officers. Defrosting should only be undertaken in refrigerators, as otherwise bacteria can multiply at room temperatures.

"As noted in our recent Breakfast Bite webinar on setting up a food business, all food businesses must adhere to mandatory food legislation, regardless of how long established they may be. 

A failure to do so can pose a grave and immediate risk to public health. 

"By following best practices for food safety and hygiene, food businesses can produce safe food. Also, consumers can rest assured that enforcement measures will be applied to food businesses that do not meet their legal obligations."