Rodent droppings and overflowing toilet among reasons for food closure orders

A live rodent in a wall cavity, rodent droppings under a pizza oven, and a staff toilet overflowing with excrement were among the reasons environmental health inspectors ordered food businesses to close in January.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said four closure orders were served in January for breaches of food safety legislation.

Inspectors ordered the Lam Inn, 386 South Circular Road, Dolphin’s Barn, Dublin, to close on January 10th after they found human excrement was overflowing from a food workers’ toilet while the kitchen was in operation.

“As staf use the toilet they would be standing in the excrement thereby carrying it into food preparation areas on their shoes,” the inspection report said.

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The conditions led to a “serious risk” of food being contaminated with pathogenic bacteria and foreign matter, rendering foodstuffs unfit for human consumption or injurious to health.

The Hot Spot takeaway, 61 Parnell Street, Limerick, was ordered to close on January 29th after Health Service Executive inspectors found rodent droppings on the floor in the food production area.

They were also found behind the fridge where the TV was mounted, under deep fat fryers and on the floor under the pizza oven.

Inspectors said there was an absence of a pest control treatment contract with a competent pest control contractor.

At Lamar & Bread Limited (manufacturer), Unit 28 Nordic Enterprise Park, Midleton, Cork, inspectors issued a closure order on January 15th after they found a live rodent in an open section of the wall cavity in the bakery.

They said this posed a serious risk of contamination with pathogenic bacteria and foreign matter such as rodent droppings.

Another closure order was served under EU food regulations on Colm Leavy Butchers, 2 Lambs Cross, Sandyford, Dublin over the cooking of raw chickens and the “hot holding and handling of cooked chickens”.

Inspectors said there were inadequate procedures in place to prevent cross-contamination of cooked chicken.

Two businesses were also prosecuted by the FSAI in January. They were Polski Sklep Miesny (grocery), Elite Business Park, Smithstown, Shannon, Clare and Costcutters (grocery), 68B Malahide Road, Clontarf, Dublin 3.

FSAI chief executive Dr Pamela Byrne said food businesses must prioritise food safety requirements to ensure the food they are serving was safe to eat.

“It is not acceptable that consumers’ or food workers’ health is compromised by inadequate food safety practices in a food business,” she said.

“ The legal responsibility for producing safe food lies firmly with food businesses. Food businesses must pay close attention to hygiene standards throughout their entire business operation and ensure that the food they sell to consumers is safe to eat.”

Dr Byrne said food businesses ran the risk of making their customers sick through contaminated food and “ruining their reputation with consumers and within the industry by neglecting basic food safety management and hygiene standards”.

Non-compliance was “not tolerated” and breaches of food safety legislation were dealt with to the full extent of food law, she added.

Details of the enforcement orders are published on the FSAI's website at fsai.ie