Crèche ordered to close over rodent infestation in baby room

A crèche in Co Louth has been ordered to close after food safety inspectors discovered a rodent infestation in a pre-school room, baby room and nappy changing area.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has reported that six closure orders and one prohibition order were served on food businesses during the month of March for breaches of food safety legislation.

Among them was Aladdins’ Cave Montessori School and Crèche, Stoney Lane, Ardee, Co Louth. Also in Co Louth, a closure orders were served on Panda House, a take away at 43 Barrack Street in Dundalk.

Hab Foods, trading as Haji Baba, a wholesaler, was ordered to close a black container unit adjacent to its main building in the Cherry Orchard Industrial Estate, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10.

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It was also served with a prohibition order and ordered to withdraw all minced lamb, diced beef, diced lamb and diced skinned chicken being supplied from the premises.

Elsewhere, the Oche Takeaway in Tallaght Retail Centre; Paparazzi restaurant in Ongar, Dublin 15; and SM Cuisine trading as Dera, which is a restaurant at 138 Parnell Street, Dublin 1, were also served with closure notices.

In a statement, the FSAI listed some of the reasons for the closure orders as “rodent infestation in a crèche pre-school room, baby room and nappy changing area; [and]large quantities of dried on blood splatters on the walls in a meat preparation unit”.

Cockroaches

There was also “a large number of dead cockroaches on the top of a cold room; fresh rat droppings under an oven and in the motor compartment of freezers in a kitchen; very poor standard of basic hygiene and cleanliness; no food safety management system; and no allergen information provided for non-prepacked food and drinks sold on the premises”.

FSAI chief executive Dr Pamela Byrne said food business operators in Ireland “should fully understand that it is their legal responsibility to ensure they are maintaining a high standard of food safety throughout their food business”.

“Consumer health in relation to food is our priority, and the FSAI, together with the inspectorate, strives to ensure that all food businesses abide by the legal requirements placed upon them,” she said.

“Food businesses must ensure that their premises are kept clean and that they are pest proofed and yet each month, inspectors are finding recurring incidents of filthy premises and rodent infestations.

“Enforcement orders tarnish the food industry as a whole and can damage consumer confidence. The onus is on each individual food business to take responsibility and commit to ensuring high food safety standards and compliance with the law.

“Non-compliance by food businesses will not be tolerated and all breaches of food safety legislation will be dealt with to the full extent of the law.”