Ten food businesses served Enforcement Orders
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has recently reported that Environmental Health Officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE) served five Closure Orders and five Prohibition Orders on food businesses during September for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998 and the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020.
Some of the reasons for the Enforcement Orders in September include: evidence of pest activity; a live rat observed on a premises and rat droppings visible on floors and shelving throughout areas where food and food packaging were stored; holes and gaps in the cavity wall behind a shelf on a shop floor; no hot water, soap or hygienic drying materials available at wash hand basins in the kitchen or staff toilets; ceilings, walls and floors of food preparation and cooking areas not clean, with significant accumulations of grease, dirt and old food residues; no evidence of controls in place to manage the risks associated with the storage, preparation and sale of food products containing raw fish; chilled and frozen foods stored at potentially unsafe temperatures; no evidence of adequate staff training in necessary food safety controls; food products offered for sale past their sell-by date.
Mr Greg Dempsey, chief executive, FSAI, said, “It’s concerning that we continue to see serious and recurring breaches of food safety law.
“These types of breaches are preventable where food businesses have a proper, robust food safety management system in place and ensure staff are adequately trained.
“The FSAI has numerous free resources and a learning portal to help support food businesses.
“Our new Guidance Note on Food Safety Culture, published recently, provides practical advice to help food businesses develop a food safety culture within their business, comply with their legal obligations and prevent these kinds of non-compliance issues from arising.”
Details of the food businesses served with Enforcement Orders are published on the FSAI’s website.
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.
