Mart restaurant among 14 closure orders issued in November

A mart restaurant has been listed among 14 food businesses to be served with an enforcement order by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).

The mart restaurant in question – located in Delvin Mart, Co. Westmeath – was issued with a closure order served under the FSAI Act 1998.

Issued on November 22, the enforcement order required the closure of the food premises due to: Regulation EC No 852/2004 on the Hygiene of Foodstuffs; and Chapter I (2)(c) and Chapter IX (3)(4) of the act.

According to the order, rodent droppings were evident in the kitchen on the floor, on shelving and in a container storing utensils.

“The conditions observed pose, or are likely to pose, a serious risk of contamination rendering the foodstuffs in this area unfit or injurious to health,” the enforcement notice read.

Prosecution

Meanwhile, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) took up a prosecution against Cissie’s Farm Shop, in the town of Donegal, Co. Donegal on November 7, relating to an offence that took place in January of this year.

A member of staff at the shop, Dominick Brogan, was convicted of the obstruction of an authorised officer under EC (Hygiene of Foodstuffs) Regulations 2006 (S.I.No. 369 of 2006) according to the FSAI.

€750 was incurred in the proceedings, while €450 in costs were awarded with a €50 fine imposed, the authority added.

Eight closure orders were imposed in total under the FSAI Act 1998 in November for businesses including:

The Blue Door take-away, Kilkenny;
Delvin Mart restaurant, Westmeath;
Teach Lisa Creche, Newtowncunningham, Donegal;
O’Rourkes, 32 Bridgefoot Street, Dublin;
Tesco Ireland, Carrick-On-Shannon, Leitrim;
O’Briens Gala, Ennis, Clare;
Everest Express take-away, Ennis, Clare; and
Rice Asian Cuisine, Ardee, Louth.

In addition, five closure orders were served under the EC (Official Control of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2010 on firms: Galmere Fresh Foods Ltd, Galway; Colours of India, Mallow, Cork; Dawat Indian Restaurant, Castlebar, Mayo; Original Curry House, Kiltimagh, Mayo; and New World Thai and Chinese take-away, Glasnevin, Dublin.

One further prohibition was served under the same legislation for Galmere Fresh Foods Ltd in Galway.

Tesco Ireland issued a statement on its store in Carrick-On-Shannon, explaining that a temporary closure notice was issued on the evening of November 6.

“We immediately arranged for a pest control company to carry out a thorough inspection and the store reopened at 3.30pm the following day, with all appropriate measures taken,” a spokesperson for the company said.

“Tesco operates to the highest health and hygiene standards and regrets this issue arose and inconvenienced customers.”

In general the enforcement orders issued this month were due to a number of reasons, with rodent infestation prevalent in some cases.

Other concerns included: no hand wash basins; dirty chopping boards and equipment; failure to segregate raw and cooked foods; improper cleaning facilities and evidence of rust, mould and dirt showing in refrigerators and freezers.