The Food Safety Authority served eleven enforcement orders on food businesses during the month of October.
Environmental health officers issued nine businesses with closure orders and two with prohibition orders for breaches of domestic and European food safety legislation.
Under the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) Act, 1998, a closure order is served where there is or there is likely to be "a grave and immediate danger" to public health or where an improvement order has not been complied with.
Closure orders can refer to the closure of all or part of the food premises, “or all or some of its activities”.
Prohibition orders are issued if activities relating to the handling, processing, disposal, manufacturing, storage, distribution or selling of food pose or are likely to pose a serious risk to public health.
The effect of the order is to prohibit the sale of the food product in question, either temporarily or permanently.
The latest orders bring to 121 the number of enforcement orders served this year. This compares with 109 served during the whole of last year.
In the month of October, four closure orders were served under the FSAI Act to the Good World Restaurant, 18 Great George's Street South, Dublin 2, The Parish Pump (public house), Rosbercon, New Ross, Wexford, Tasty Chinese Take Away, The Square, Dromcollogher, Limerick and to the Eurospar (supermarket) (Closed area: bakery and delicatessen counter), Skerries Point Shopping Centre, Skerries, Co Dublin.
Five closure orders were served under EC (Official Control of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2010, to the Oriental Kitchen Ltd (restaurant), Unit 5, Strand Centre, Strand Road, Portmarnock, Co Dublin, Beriozka (grocery), Bellefield Road, Enniscorthy, Wexford, Tom's Bakery, Unit 3, Knocknabohilly Industrial Estate, Farmlane, Kinsale, Cork, The Village Takeaway, Kill, Waterford and on Turkuaz Turkishk (restaurant), 36 Washington Street, Cork.
One prohibition order was served under the FSAI Act on John Doyles Bar, 160 Phibsborough Road, Phibsborough, Dublin 7, and one prohibition order was served under the EC (Official Control of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2010 to Gilligan's Butcher Shop, Old Church Street, Manorhamilton, Leitrim.
The HSE carried out a succesful prosecution against Dillingers Restaurant Limited, 47 Ranelagh, Ranelagh, Dublin 6.
FSAI chief executive Prof Alan Reilly warned that food businesses need to be vigilant in relation to food safety at all times, particularly in the busy run up to Christmas, in order to ensure full compliance with food regulations.
“There can be no excuse for putting consumers’ health at risk through negligent practices. The legal onus is on all food businesses to ensure that the food they serve is safe to eat,” he said.
“It is of particular importance over the coming weeks that food businesses properly prepare for the lead up to Christmas and ensure that they can cope safely with the increased volumes of food they may supply.”
“We are urging businesses to take full advantage of the information and support provided by the inspectorate and the FSAI to ensure that they have the correct food safety management systems in place.”
Details of the food businesses served with these Enforcement Orders are published on the FSAI’s website at fsai.ie. Businesses served with closure orders and improvement orders remain listed on the FSAI website for three months from the date of when the premises has corrected its food safety issue and prohibition orders are listed for a month.