Frozen food being labelled as fresh food or being sold past its use by date were among the reasons why the Food Safety Authority of Ireland served three closure orders and one prohibition order on food businesses in April.
A prohibition order was served on Pak Halal, on 76 Main Street, Swords Co Dublin following an inspection.
The inspector found that frozen food was labelled as fresh food on the premises, and that much of the food had either passed its use by date or had no use by date.
There was no information on the boxes or bags to indicate when the food had been frozen, or that it had been frozen before expiry of its use by date, according to the inspector.
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“Some of the food packaging was also damaged and the food was not protected from potential contamination,” the inspector added, and “some food was not labelled or boxes contained food not corresponding to the label,” the inspector found.
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Little Neros, The Square, Abbeyfeale in Co Limerick was also served with a closure order under the FSAI act, 1998.
The inspector noted that there was no hot water on the premises at the time of the inspection and there was also no electricity into the premises as the boiler was not working.
“The electricity was not working as a generator used to provide electricity to the premises had run out of fuel at the time of inspection,” the inspector noted.
High risk food was stored at unsafe temperatures on the premises also with cooked chicken stored at 11 degrees and garlic mayonnaise stored at 12.1 degrees, the inspector found.
On 1 Ludlow Street in Navan, Co Meath, Vicos Grill was also served with a closure order.
An inspection found “there was no evidence to demonstrate that food handlers were trained or supervised in food safety commensurate with their duties or in the application of the HACCP principles”.
The premises also had an inadequate traceability system in place, according to the inspection, which put customers at risk, while it “was not maintained in a clean and hygienic condition at the time of inspection”.
“Equipment and food contact surfaces were dirty and greasy, with embedded food debris evident. The poor standard of hygiene and cleanliness observed posed a risk of contamination to food prepared and stored on the premises,” the inspection found.
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The mechanical ventilation system over the cooking equipment in the rear preparation kitchen was also not working at the time of inspection, and did not have grease filters.
Meaghers Daybreak in Kerry Street, Fethard, Co Tipperary was also served with a closure order. It was ordered to close the deli area and open refrigerated display unit in the middle of the retail area for foods requiring refrigerated storage.
The inspection found that the deli area was unclean, with the floor to wall junctions beneath the equipment in the deli having “a significant accumulation of food debris, dirt and cobwebs”.
The filters of the canopy above the cooking equipment were also unclean, the inspector found, while the floor beneath and adjacent to the ice cream machine was unclean, and the interior of the cupboard beneath the ice cream machine was unclean.
The inspection also noted that they failed to “maintain the cold-chain”.
