Five enforcement orders issued to food businesses in October

The FSAI has issued five enforcement orders over the last month for breaches of food safety legislation.

Handwashing not being observed during an inspection, mould visible inside cooking appliances, and large open containers of raw chicken stored at room temperature are some of the reasons why food businesses in Ireland were forced to shut their doors in October.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) issued five enforcement orders over the last month for breaches of food safety legislation.

The latest enforcement report, published today, detailed that two closure orders were served under the FSAI Act 1998.

Indian Spices, located on 138 Parnell St, Dublin 1, was forced to close from October 10 to October 12. An FSAI inspection found foul water flowing from a broken wastewater drain, rendering food “unfit for human consumption”.

The report also noted a lack of handwashing facilities in the kitchen, adding that these had been “removed from the kitchen recently”.

In Co Kildare, Base Coffee, The Mart, Newbridge Rd in Kilcullen closed on October 26 and has not yet reopened.

The FSAI report described the presence of a contaminated water supply in the premises. The results indicated the presence of coliforms, E-coli and Enterococci within the drinking water.

Given these levels of contamination, the drinking water supply poses a grave and immediate danger to public health.

Two businesses were served with closure orders under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations 2020.

In Co Meath, Mizzoni Pizza on 12 Railway St in Navan closed on October 27. It has not since reopened.

Allergic reaction risk

The inspector’s report noted “no food allergen management plan in place”, establishing the risk of “a life-threatening allergic reaction”.

The FSAI report also described evidence that equipment used during food preparation was not cleaned by staff members at the close of shift.

“For example: Cooking trays were not washed after use and were found to be congealed with grease and charred food particles," it said.

"Pizza dough containers were visibly soiled with food debris/flour residues. Food utensils eg tongs, pizza cutters were encrusted with food residues from the previous night,” the report said.

Seasons Chinese on Bridge St, Strokestown, Roscommon, was issued a closure order on October 26. The restaurant reopened on November 2.

The inspector's report noted examples of cross-contamination and instances of non-compliance in relation to the personal hygiene of staff on the premises.

Some food workers were not wearing protective clothing, which poses a risk of contamination of foods from dirty outer clothing and/or hair falling into the food.

In addition, Meghan's Café on 8 Cecilia St, Dublin 2, was issued with a prohibition order under EU regulations on October 2. This was lifted on October 9.

The inspector noted that a series of items on the menu were to be “restricted or prohibited” from being placed on the market and not to be used for human consumption.

Some of the items included a ham and cheese toastie, falafel wrap, small cheese pizza, lemon cheesecake, and a cheese and mushroom croissant.