Emerald Park, the theme park formerly known as Tayto Park, was one of 12 food businesses served with an enforcement order last month after rat droppings were found in a storage unit backing onto a coffee dock.
A HSE inspector found that the coffee dock did not have adequate pest control protocols in place after discovering droppings in an area used to store candy floss, reusable cups, lids, straws, scoops, tays, paper towels, sauce dispensers and other items.
They noted that the unit was not pest proof due to the holes in its walls. The closure order, which related solely to the storage unit, was served on July 14 and lifted the next day.
The Lidl store in Sallynoggin near Dún Laoghaire was also required to close from July 29 to August 1 after an inspector discovered rodent droppings in multiple locations, including on the shop floor behind a food display unit and beside a freezer.
The inspector also noted "extensive" food debris on the floor of the shop floor, the bakery and the stock room as well as large amounts of foodstuffs where the rodent droppings were evident.
Elsewhere, inspectors said there was evidence at the Brandon Hotel in Tralee, Co Kerry of a "significant cockroach infestation at all stages of the life cycle from nymph to adult throughout the food premises".
All kitchen areas including the dry goods store, wash-up area, staff canteen, restaurant and stills area were closed from July 23-25 as a result.
Wakami Sushi & Asian and Hidden Dojo Asian Streetfood, both registered to the same address in Phibsborough, have been closed since July 7 due to cluttered sinks, infrequent hand washing, a lack of clean protective clothing, general uncleanliness and inadequate traceability systems and HAACP compliance.
The Costa Coffee on Dawson Street was closed from July 2-4 due to rat droppings in the dishwasher room, food store and the main customer entrance.
Tim Nessa, an African food shop in Limerick, was served with a closure order on July 8 due to a number of failures, including the decanting of food into plastic bags, no monitoring of fridge and freezer temperatures, food debris and residue on all fridge and freezers and an insufficient number of hand wash basins.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) subsequently became aware that the business continued to to trade and applied to the High Court for a prohibition order, which was granted on July 29. The matter will be back before the High Court later this month.
Ballymaguire Foods was also served with a prohibition order during the month after a widely-publicised listeria outbreak and was allowed to resume operations last week.
"Recent foodborne incidents serve as a stark reminder of the need for food businesses to maintain the highest food safety standards," said Greg Dempsey, chief executive of the FSAI.
"Consumers are entitled to expect that the food they purchase is safe, and food businesses have a clear legal and moral responsibility to ensure that it is. The Enforcement Orders issued this month reflect serious, preventable breaches of food safety law.
"Every food business must take its responsibility to comply with food safety law seriously. The FSAI can provide support and advice to food businesses to help them meet their obligations. However, as demonstrated by the enforcement actions this month, where food businesses do not comply with their obligations, we will take action.”
(Pic: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland)
