'Grave and immediate danger to public health' Shop in Carlow Town hit with FSAI closure

A shop in the heart of Carlow Town was hit with an FSAI closure order in May.

The shop, Stop n Shop Convenience Store, which is located in the centre of Carlow Town at 52-54 Tullow Street had the closure order on the 8th of May and had the orders lifted on the 15th of May 2025 after failing inspection from the HSE.

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The particular reasons in which the shop was issued its closing orders are as follows:

"There was significant build up dust in the food storage and display area on the surface of foods from extensive building works being carried out at the time of inspection. Dirty building materials and equipment were noted being brought through food preparation area leading to a build up of dust on the floor and worktop surfaces in the premises.

A build up of heavy dust and debris on floors, under shelving and on equipment in the food preparation area which had not been cleaned.

It was noted that significant dust and dirt was on the internal and external surfaces of an open ice cream fridge and crepe preparation area visible to naked eye and if touched could be seen on hands. Utensils for food preparation such as grills, waffle makers and food ingredients such as sauces and containers were all covered in dust rendering them unsafe to be used for the preparation of food in the premises.

There are ongoing building works taking place in the premises posing a further risk to food safety rendering the premises unfit in its current state to operate safely as a food food business."

The inspector also wrote the risk of the premises during the inspection as:

"I make this order of being of the opinion that there is, or is likely to be, a grave and immediate danger to public health at, in or on the said premises for the particular reasons set out above. "

Mr Greg Dempsey, Chief Executive, FSAI, warned that every food business must be registered with a competent authority and that all food businesses have a legal obligation to ensure the food they sell is safe to eat.

“The high number of Enforcement Orders in May is disappointing, especially as the type of non-compliances, such as unclean premises and pest infestations, are all preventable where the business has a food safety management system in place and staff are properly trained. Additionally, while the vast majority of food businesses comply with their legal requirement to register their business prior to operating, unfortunately, some choose to operate without the knowledge or supervision of the competent authorities, potentially exposing consumers to unsafe or fraudulent food. These businesses will be pursued using the legal powers available to us. The FSAI website has a wealth of free information for any food business to access if they need help. We also have a free Learning Portal to assist in building compliance by food businesses and it includes eLearning modules, webinars, short videos, and explanatory materials covering a broad range of relevant food safety topics,” said Mr Dempsey.