Sixty-two food businesses were closed or ordered to improve their standards last year, according to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
This is a slight drop from 69 for the same period in 2002. There are an estimated 42,500 food businesses in Ireland.
The FSAI said its enforcement officers served 35 closure orders, 26 improvement orders and one prohibition order last year.
Closure orders are served when there is deemed to be an immediate risk to public health, while improvement orders apply when practices are judged to be likely to pose a serious risk if continued. Failure to comply with an improvement order may lead to a closure order.
Prohibition orders apply to specific products, the sale of which could lead to public health problems.
The primary reasons for such orders are non-compliance with food regulations, including dirty premises and unhygienic practices that lead to contamination.
Mr Peter Whelan, Director of Service Contracts of the FSAI, said that although the drop from 2002 was positive, it was still not enough and showed some food businesses were not keeping to food safety management systems. "Every food business has to play its part if consumers are to be reassured that their interests are placed first and shoddy practices are eradicated," he said.