Board denies failing to act on hygiene breaches

THE Eastern Health Board has rejected claims by local authority vets that it failed to act against six Dublin meat outlets which committed major breaches of food hygiene regulations.

The Local Authority Veterinary Officers' Association (LAVOA), which made the claims, said the outlets included two which had previous convictions for breaches of food safety laws.

The six shops - all independently owned - were the subject of reports by veterinary inspectors between July and October last year. It is understood that the worst case involved the discovery of maggots inside a mechanical saw used for cutting meat.

However, the EHB says the cases identified had been inspected by the board's own environmental health officers. While some defects were found and the owners advised of them, the board did not consider there were sufficient grounds for prosecution.

"It is our board's policy that where there is an actual, grave and immediate danger to the health of the public, a closure order would be immediately sought for the premises in question," the EHB said in a statement.

The LAVOA president, Mr F.J. McRory, said he was not questioning the propriety of the inspections carried out by the environmental health officers. But he insisted that in visits subsequent to his members' recommendations of prosecutions in the six Dublin cases, conditions in four of the outlets had deteriorated.

"We're not talking about rocket science here. These are just dirty conditions in which meat is being kept and in the opinion of our members they were major breaches of the guidelines."

The EHB's statement added that there was now an "inter professional dispute with both sets of professionals insisting on inspecting meat in butchers shops".

Since 1989, the board's environmental health officers have been empowered to carry out inspections of retail meat shops, which until then were the sole responsibility of veterinary officers employed by the local authorities.

But the LAVOA insists that its members still "carry the can" legally for unhygienic conditions in these outlets, according to Mr McRory.