The Food Safety Authority of Ireland is to set up a special training programme for Chinese restaurants and takeaways, after officials became concerned about poor standards in the sector.
The food safety programme is designed to tackle a gap in food safety knowledge in the Chinese food sector and will be offered to restaurants and takeaways across the State, the authority said.
The programme is specifically developed for the Chinese food sector to address the high levels of enforcement orders issued by the FSAI to this sector each month.
It will be launched this morning by the FSAI.
Enforcement orders, ordering closure or improvements, are served on food businesses which breach food safety legislation.
The programme was developed to prevent the high level of food safety breaches identified by the FSAI in the Chinese food sector and aims to assist the industry comply with the highest standards of food safety.
There are about 6,000 Chinese restaurants and takeaways in Ireland. However, since the FSAI introduced enforcement orders in 2001, a "consistently high" level of orders were imposed on Chinese restaurants and takeaways, according to a spokesperson for the FSAI.
A "gap in terms of knowledge of food safety issues" in the Chinese sector was identified by the FSAI, she explained.
The need to address this issue very directly was highlighted, and this programme was developed, she said. The idea is to make training more available and accessible to the sector, she added.
Following on the success of a pilot programme, which was run in two restaurants in Naas and Monaghan between November 2003 and February 2004, the programme will be offered to Chinese restaurants and takeaways across the State.
The course will cost each restaurant €250 and will involve trainers travelling out to the restaurant for three three-hour sessions to train owners, managers and head chefs in food safety matters. It will be offered in English and Chinese.
As the preparation of Chinese food involves different cooking practices, the programme will instead focus on basic food safety principles and how layout and design can help the implementation of good food practice, the spokeswoman explained.