A butcher in Co. Dublin has been included among food businesses on which enforcement orders were served in July.
In all, 16 enforcement orders were issued against various food businesses around the country last month.
These include three closure orders served under Irish legislation; nine closure orders served under EU legislation; three prohibition orders served under Irish legislation; and one prohibition order served under EU legislation; the latter of which was the Dublin-based butcher.
The purpose of a closure order is to close all or part of a food business, or to cease some or all of its activities. The purpose of a prohibition order is to prohibit the sale of a product if a serious risk arises, or is likely to arise, from its handling, processing, manufacturing, storage, or other practices.
In the case of the butcher, based in Balbriggan in the north of Co. Dublin, the prohibition order related to items contained in display chest freezers, including:
- four x 1kg (approximately) clear bags containing lamb feet;
- 14 x 1kg (approximately) clear bags containing lamb bones;
- One x 1kg (approximately) clear bag containing chicken wings.
According to the prohibition order, the non-compliance by the business related to a lack of labelling and traceability information on the above products.
The other 15 enforcement orders were served on a variety of businesses, including restaurants, cafes, retailer, and takeaways.
These orders were served on businesses mainly in Co. Dublin, but also in counties Roscommon, Tipperary, Louth, and Cork.
Two of the businesses in Dublin were served with full closure orders after having been served with partial closure orders earlier in the month. These two businesses were also located at the same address, as were two others.
Some of the reasons for enforcement orders served in July, according to the FSAI, include: ongoing cockroach activity (leading to six orders served at the one location); live cockroaches found in equipment and on traps in the kitchen area; multiple holes and gaps in the walls along with rodent droppings; a rodent carcass in snap trap; and failure to implement adequate pest control measures, among other issues.
Commenting on the orders, Pamela Byrne, chief executive of the FSAI, said: “Filthy premises, unsafe food storage and inadequate pest control measures are once again the primary reasons for this month’s enforcement orders.
“These violations demonstrate a total disregard for food safety requirements and highlight the ongoing failure of some food businesses to maintain basic, consistent cleaning practices, and this failure poses a significant risk to public health.
“Food businesses have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of the food they produce, distribute or sell by maintaining proper storage temperatures, ensuring staff are properly trained, having stringent hygiene practices and ensuring their food businesses are fully pest proofed,” Dr. Byrne added.