Two slaughterhouses in counties Cavan and Monaghan have been closed after food safety inspectors found dangerous hygiene practices.
A butcher's shop in Clones, Co Monaghan, attached to one of the abattoirs, was served with a prohibition order, forbidding the sale of certain products until further notice.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) last night said the hygiene lapses posed a "grave and immediate danger to public health". But it added the risk had been contained and there was no danger to consumers.
The FSAI said it could not reveal the nature of the breaches for legal reasons.
Inspectors served closure orders on Barney Connolly's abattoir, Stradone, Co Cavan, on July 22nd; and on Liam Nicholl's abattoir, Clones, Co Monaghan, on July 11th. Both are small businesses supplying local butchers.
A prohibition order, temporarily forbidding the sale of a product, was served on Liam Nicholl's butcher shop, also in Clones.
An FSAI spokeswoman said contaminated beef had not entered the food chain.
She said: "The breaches were extremely serious but the authority is satisfied that no risk is posed to consumers."
The abattoir owners could face fines or prison sentences if they do not carry out immediate improvements to hygiene.
Inspectors imposed a prohibition order on Goslin's public house, Gorey, Co Wexford.Improvement orders, which are served where continued failure to obey food safety regulations is likely to pose a health risk, were served on three premises in Dublin: the Betta Buy Ltd supermarket, Crumlin; Fusciardi's takeaway restaurant in Terenure; and the Eden Gate Lodge pub in Rathfarnham.
Two closure orders were imposed in July, compared with nine during the same month last year.
FSAI's director of of service contracts, Mr Peter Whelan, said the decrease was encouraging.
Closure and improvement orders will be listed on the FSAI website (www.fsai.ie) for three months after a premises is judged to have addressed the hygiene breach.