The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has reported that five Closure Orders and one Prohibition Order were served on food businesses during the month of January for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998 and the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020. The Enforcement Orders were issued by environmental health officers in the Health Service Executive.
Some of the reasons for the Enforcement Orders in January include a build-up of food debris; black sacks containing a mix of rice and rodent faeces located in a press adjacent to a small dry goods store; rodent droppings observed under shelving; exposed piping and rotten wood in male staff facilities; evidence that cleaning and disinfection was not taking place at a frequency sufficient to avoid any risk of contamination; dried food and dirt encrusted onto food storage containers and equipment in which food was stored; shelving on which food and food preparation equipment is stored was encrusted with dirt and grease; no labelling on pre-prepared food in refrigerated storage or on foods in frozen storage; an absence of systems and procedures which allow for traceability; frozen meals with high risk ingredients being produced on site, but were not held at the correct temperature.
Details of the food businesses served with Enforcement Orders are published on the FSAI’s website. Closure Orders and Improvement Orders will remain listed in the enforcement reports on the website for a period of three months from the date of when a premises is adjudged to have corrected its food safety issue, with Prohibition Orders being listed for a period of one month.
If you require Food Safety/HACCP training for your staff, a Food Safety/HACCP system specifically designed for you food business or Food Safety advice, give SafeHands a call.