Three Dublin city-centre food businesses and one in County Cork have been served with closure notices by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.
The Dublin businesses are the Cold Noodle Restaurant, Moore Street; the Crystal Superstore, Moore Lane; and the My G Super Store in Upper Dorset Street. The Cork business is the Ching Fong Chinese Takeaway in Bantry.
The latest cases bring to 37 the number of such orders issued this year - up on the 35 issued during all of 2003, and equal to the highest annual total since the FSAI was established in 1998.
The FSAI cites dirty premises and equipment, unhygienic practices, contaminated products, cross contamination from raw to cooked foods, improper refrigeration and poorly supervised or trained staff as the main reasons for closure orders.
The authority's director of service contracts, Mr Peter Whelan, said while the number of businesses involved remained small, "the fact that there are any at all is not helping to build confidence among consumers".