A restaurant in Wexford and a grocery shop in Dublin were served with closure orders by the food safety authorities last month on the grounds they posed an immediate danger to public health.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said today that a closure order was served on Torad Cosmetics, a grocery retailer, at 13 Moore Street, Dublin 1, by environmental health officers from the Northern Area Health Board.
In Wexford, officers from the South Eastern Health Board served a closure order on the restaurant/canteen operated by Thomas Corrigan, Main Street, Blackwater, Co Wexford.
Dr John O'Brien, chief executive of the FSAI urged food businesses to be "particularly vigilant" about food safety in the lead up to and during the Christmas party season.
"Catering for increased turnover during the Christmas festivities can result in commercial caterers, restaurants and retailers working flat out to meet demands," he said.
"Food businesses must ensure they have robust food safety systems in place to ensure they can cope with this extra demand whilst still providing the safest food.
"Particular attention should be paid to storing food correctly, as bulk buying for the festive season can mean that the industry is holding a higher quantity of perishable foods than at any other time of the year," Dr O'Brien said.
"It is also important that proprietors ensure that they only deal with suppliers and distributors that have stringent food safety management systems."