Discovery of mouse droppings among reasons for closure of Irish food businesses last month

Four enforcement orders were served on food businesses across Ireland last month. 

That's according to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), which today (February 9) reported four orders were served on the establishments in January 2023 for breaches of food safety legislation. 

The Enforcement Orders were issued by Environmental Health Officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE) and local authority veterinary inspectors in Monaghan County Council.

One Closure Order was served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on Spiceland (fishmonger) at Unit 1, Green Isle Park, Port Road, Ballyraine, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, with another served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on Happy Valley Chinese Take-Away, 3 Main Street, Duleek, Meath. 

One Prohibition Order was served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on World of Spices, 12 Talbot Street, Dublin 1, with another served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on premises occupied by Antanas Damarodas at Lacken, Latton, Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan. 

Some of the reasons for the Enforcement Orders in January include the discovery of a live rodent found in the kitchen; widespread evidence of a mouse infestation throughout the premises, with mouse droppings found in the retail, storage and delivery areas of the shop; meat stored in an unregistered and unapproved premises and the origin of the meat on the premises was unknown; a lack of information on product traceability; lack of information regarding allergen information as well as production, handling, distribution and storage processes. 

Commenting, Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI, said that every food business must have a robust food safety management system in place.

She said, "To ensure food safety and hygiene, every food business is required by law to have a robust food safety management system and to also ensure that this system is working properly. While the majority of those inspected have adequate procedures in place, the fact that Environmental Health Officers continue to find incidents of rodents and pest infestations in some food businesses highlights that a food safety management system is not working.

"Consumers have a right to safe food and food businesses have a legal responsibility to ensure that it is safe to eat. To address this issue with pest control, we are running a free Breakfast Bite webinar on 1 March on managing and monitoring pest control procedures in food businesses. Registration for this webinar can be accessed on the FSAI website." 

Closure Orders and Improvement Orders will remain listed in the enforcement reports on the website for a period of three months from the date of when a premises is adjudged to have corrected its food safety issue, with Prohibition Orders being listed for a period of one month.