A closure order was served on a takeaway in Co Donegal after live rats were found on its premises.
The order was served on Bamboo Foods Ltd in Letterkenny by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) on July 15th and was lifted 12 days later.
“Adequate procedures were not in place to control pests,” the inspection report stated.
“Live rats were sighted in rear yard area of premises and fresh droppings were sighted within the food business.”
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The report said such conditions posed “serious risks” of food being contaminated with pathogens and being rendered “unfit for human consumption”.
“The food business operator had not established or implemented effective monitoring procedures at critical control points such as storage, cooking and preheating,” it added.
“Monitoring procedures were not in place to ensure food safety in the food business. There was no monitoring records.”
Closure orders were also served on Zing by Chaska restaurant on Marlborough Street in Dublin and Superfruit in the English Market in Cork. Both orders have since been lifted.
A closure order served on Doson takeaway on Dorset Street in Dublin city centre has not been lifted. Inspectors at the takeaway found chicken being stored at 23 degrees.
“There was no evidence of a permanent, documented procedures based on the principles of HACCP [hazard analysis critical control point], for example, high risk cooked meats were not temperature controlled, chicken was recorded at 23 degrees,” the inspection report said.
Eight prohibition orders, which are under appeal, were served on Holland and Barrett at Dublin Airport Logistics Park.
A prohibition order is issued if the activities, such as the handling, processing, disposal, manufacturing, storage, distribution or selling of food, involve or are likely to involve a serious risk to public health from a particular product, class, batch or item of food.
The effect is to prohibit the sale of the product, either temporarily or permanently.
Dr Pamela Byrne, chief executive of the FSAI, emphasised the importance of “vigorous pest control systems”.
“Ensuring food is free of contamination includes putting robust pest control systems in place and also training/supervising staff appropriately,” Dr Byrne said.
“It must also be noted that summer is a particularly busy time of year for many food businesses, and it is critical that businesses have the necessary systems in place to account for both the increase in customers and temperatures.
“Food bacteria can multiply quickly in warm weather and food businesses must ensure food is stored correctly.”
