Restaurant, butcher shut over hygiene breaches

The country's first Polish restaurant, Kanal Polish Club in Dublin's city centre, was closed down by environmental health officers last month, the Food Safety Authority said yesterday.

The Capel Street restaurant was one of two businesses shut down for food safety breaches in October.

A butcher shop owned by Aidan St Ledger in Rochestown, New Ross, Co Wexford, was also closed.

Environmental health officers served one improvement order - on Sameh Gouma of El Sinbad, a butcher shop at 38B South Richmond Street, Dublin.

The enforcement orders were all issued under the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) Act 1998.

Some 26 closure orders have been issued so far this year, following approximately 50,000 inspections in food premises nationwide.

This is down from a high of 53 closures in 2001.

The orders are served when a health officer believes that there is, or is likely to be, a grave and immediate danger to public health at an inspected premises.

Improvement orders are issued by the District Court if an improvement notice, recommending a business improves its practice, is not complied with.

The most common breaches of the act include poor storage of food, poor handling of food by staff and general poor hygiene. An accumulation of faults is often the cause of closure.

Once the faults are rectified, a business that has been closed down can apply to be reopened following a further inspection.

Dr John O'Brien, chief executive of FSAI, said food safety legislation sets minimum standards with which industry must comply, and no excuses will be accepted for those who flout the law.

"Of the 45,000 food businesses operating in Ireland, the majority comply . . . It is disappointing that a small number of food businesses continue to ignore their legal responsibility for food safety and hygiene," he said.