Behind the News: Marie Ryan, environmental health officer

Last month the Food Safety Authority of Ireland forced 14 restaurants, takeaways and other food businesses to close after visits by environmental-health officers.

May's total was the highest so far this year, and many of us are probably more aware of such closures than we used to be. But that doesn't mean food hygiene is slipping overall, according to Marie Ryan.

“Since I started working as an environmental-health officer, 15 years ago, I can say that I have seen an improvement in hygiene standards,” she says.

Ryan is one of 450 officers who monitor Ireland’s 46,000 food outlets. They have the powers to close a premises immediately if they see evidence of “a grave and immediate danger to public health”.

The length of time that last month’s 14 businesses must remain closed depends on how quickly they address their hygiene issues. “Sometimes the closure order is outside the control of the business – for example, if there is a burst sewage pipe – but other times it’s a combination of bad practices or a rat infestation that leads to a closure order,” Ryan says.

Legal changes have put the onus on food outlets to maintain standards. “Proprietors are more aware of their responsibilities following the 1998 legislation and that they need to be compliant and have things right for a visit of an environmental-health officer.”

EU legislation introduced in 2010 has also increased officers’ powers to issue closure orders following repeated breaches. “This happens when you’ve given as much advice as you can, encouraging a food premises to comply but with no result.”

Officers pay unannounced visits to premises that range from newsagents to hospital canteens. The two main areas they look at are structural (walls, floors, ceilings and equipment) and operational (hygiene practices, and temperature controls for storing and cooking food).

How can the public assess the hygiene of a food premises? Ryan says it’s very difficult to know without access to the kitchen. “The cleanliness of the front of house and toilets is sometimes indicative of the commitment to hygiene, but it doesn’t necessarily follow through to the kitchen.”