Dunshaughlin take-away issued with closure order

A closure order on a Chinese restaurant in Dunshaughlin in December was one of four issued by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland on food premises last month.

The order was served on the Golden Phoenix Chinese Restaurant, Main Street, Dunshaughlin because of "a lack of evidence of adequate and regular cleaning in food rooms."

According to the FSAI "There was evidence that articles, fittings and equipment coming into contact with food were not effectively cleaned and disinfected. Mould growth was visible on many structural and food contact surfaces.

"Foodstuffs were not kept in appropriate conditions designed to prevent harmful deterioration and protect them from contamination."

The order was served on 5th December and lifted on the 9th December.

The FSAI reported that four Closure Orders and one Prohibition Order were served on food businesses during the month of December 2023 for breaches of food safety legislation.

The FSAI also has stated that 92 Enforcement Orders were served on food businesses for breaches of food safety legislation in 2023, an increase of 19 per cent from the 77 that were served in 2022. Announcing the figures today, the FSAI, expressed disappointment at the increase, and reminded food businesses to train staff appropriately to produce, serve and sell food in accordance with food safety legislation, and to ensure that premises are fully suitable for safe food production and storage.

Between 1st January and 31st December 2023, 76 Closure Orders, three Improvement Orders and 13 Prohibition Orders were served on food businesses. A total of six prosecutions were also taken. Recurring issues of food safety negligence identified included inadequate food storage with the risk of contamination; a lack of pest control procedures such as monitoring and pest proofing; inadequate temperature control in food storage, preparation and distribution; and insufficient staff training in food safety, personal hygiene and record keeping.

Commenting on the annual figures, Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI, said she had hoped to see a reduction in the number of Enforcement Orders needing to be served in 2023. Disappointingly, this was not the case.

“As a result of the inspections carried out by Environmental Health Officers, local authority veterinary inspectors, sea-fisheries protection officers and FSAI officers, a total of 92 food businesses were served with legal orders for breaches of food safety law in 2023. While each of these Enforcement Orders was necessary for the protection of consumer health in relation to food safety, we should not be seeing such breaches of food law occurring in food businesses at all.”