The kitchens in a Co Galway hotel were so filthy, they were closed following a Western Health Board environmental inspection and were only reopened after they received urgent deep cleansing, Galway District Court was told yesterday.
The proprietor of the Oyster Manor Hotel, Clarenbridge, Co Galway, Mr Edward Forde, was prosecuted by the Western Health Board, for eight breaches of the EU (Hygiene and Foodstuffs) Regulations 2000, and fined a total of €2,200, plus €1,140 costs.
Environmental health officer Mr Shane McHale said he inspected the hotel on September 4th last and found the kitchen so filthy he immediately closed it. He said he intended to close the premises entirely but after urgent deep cleansing overnight, he reopened it the next day.
On the date of his initial inspection he found a live slug on a shelf in the dry food storage room near food. In the kitchen, he found congealed food debris on the walls, ceilings, floors and equipment in the pastry area. The area around the wash-up basin was filthy, because of a build-up of wet food waste and the areas around the food preparation areas were also dirty. The milk dispenser was unwashed, as was the deliveries area which had cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. Mr McHale said he found a raw carrot in a meat slicer used to slice cooked meats and a tray of raw, defrosting fish was stored near this slicer. There was also a tray of chicken breasts cooling adjacent to a filthy preparation sink, he said.
Judge John Garavan said first summons, relating to the filth of the different areas, was the most "devastating and deplorable" summons he had ever come across.