Two Letterkenny food businesses were served with temporary closure orders last month due to food safety risks.
Chicking Restaurant and Payless Grocery & Meat, both on the Port Road, were shut for periods in April following health and safety inspections.
Payless Grocery & Meat store at 46 Port Road was ordered to close from 17th-25th April after evidence of rodents was found.
Adequate procedures were not in place to prevent rodents from gaining access to the food premises.
The closure order noted that rodents can transmit harmful pathogens through their droppings and urine creating a serious risk to foodstuffs and rendering the food unfit for human consumption.
Chicking at O’Boyce’s Corner was closed for a week from 19th – 25th April. An inspection found there was an inadequate number of hand wash basins, posing a risk to food handler’s hands not being effectively cleaned. The report said the only wash hand basin in use at the time was located in the raw poultry breading area.
The inspection at Chicking also found the premises was too small for hygienic performance and cooking of high-risk foodstuffs associated with the off-site catering business.
Inadequate foul water drainage was noted, posing a risk to food safety and public health.
April saw the highest level of Closure Orders served this year as 21 food businesses breached food safety legislation.
Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI, said that the high number of Closure Orders needing to be served in April is alarming.
“Twenty one Closure Orders served in one month is the highest number since November 2019, when the same number were also issued. Amongst the reasons for the Closure Orders in April, a lack of adequate procedures to control pests was frequently cited. This resulted in evidence of widespread mice and cockroach activity, which leads to a serious risk of food being contaminated and poses a grave and immediate danger to public health. Food businesses must ensure that their food business is properly pest proofed, and that they take effective action if there is a pest infestation.
“Each month, we issue the list of Enforcement Orders as a deterrent, but it seems that last month, food safety fell off the list of priorities for quite a number of food businesses. Consumers have a right to safe food and food safety must always be a top priority for food businesses. There are no excuses. Food safety is a legal requirement for all food businesses.”
