The restaurant within Carnew Mart in Co. Wicklow was among eight food businesses that were served closure orders by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) last month.

A closure order is issued if, in the opinion of the authorised officer, there is or there is likely to be a grave and immediate danger to public health at/or in the food premises. 

The closure order was issued by the Health Service Executive (HSE) on October 24, due to "a current rodent infestation in the main kitchen food preparation area where high-risk ready-to-eat foods are prepared".

The closure order, which has since been lifted, states that "this was evident by the presence of a dead rodent and rodent droppings noted throughout the main kitchen food preparation area".

The premises is "occupied by Mr. Boris Ivanoff at Carnew, Co. Wicklow trading as Carnew Mart". The mart, however, does not operate the restaurant facility.

According to the order published by the FSAI, the premises was not maintained in a clean condition with "a build up of food and debris" evident behind and below equipment in the main kitchen food preparation area.

However, the order was lifted on October 29. Orders may be lifted when the premises has improved to the satisfaction of the authorised officer, according to the FSAI.

In total, the FSAI served 16 enforcement orders last month for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998, and the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020.

The orders were issued by environmental health officers in the HSE, veterinary inspectors in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), and sea-fisheries protection officers in the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority.

Eight closure orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on: 

Longfield Academy (closed area: main kitchen used for reheating food), Rockview, Deerpark Road, Cashel, Tipperary;
The restaurant within Carnew Mart, Carnew, Wicklow;
OCrualaoi Butchers & Delicatessen (closed area: the kitchen), Scoil Mhuire Fatima, North Monastery Primary School, North Monastery Road, Cork;
Eskimo Pizza (take-away), 31 Deansgrange Road, Deansgrange, Co. Dublin;
Baking Emporium (foods of non-animal origin processing), Bridgemount House, Dunmanway, Cork;
NDM Green Italia (take-away), 37 Rathmines Road Upper, Rathmines, Dublin 6;
Grain and Gain (restaurant/café), The Bypass Business Park, Bandon, Cork;
Tinakilly Country House Hotel (closed area: main kitchen - food preparation and adjacent baking area within the main building), Main Street, Rathnew, Wicklow.

In addition, four closure orders were served in October under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on: 

Tasty Mac's (take-away), Main Street, Falcarragh, Donegal;
Welcome Home (retailer), 2 Kickham Place, Tipperary town, Tipperary;
CoCo Asian & Chinese Takeaway, Main Street, Ballingarry, Limerick;
Istanbul Kebab House (restaurant/café), 29 Lower Liffey Street, Dublin 1.

One improvement order was served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on Turkmen Grill, 1-2 Parnell Street, Limerick. An improvement order is issued by the District Court if an improvement notice is not complied with.

Two prohibition orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on Sean Kent (under appeal), Ballyrichard, Arklow, Wicklow; and BD Trading (wholesaler/ distributor), Unit 1b Kiltoran Business Park, Ballyhale, Kilkenny.

One prohibition order was served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on Superior Distribution Ireland Ltd (wholesaler/ distributor), Blackwater Farm, Clongiffen, Longwood, Meath.

A prohibition order is issued if the handling, processing, disposal, manufacturing, storage, distribution or selling of food involve or are likely to involve a serious risk to public health from a particular product, class, batch or item of food.

Some of the reasons for the enforcement orders issued in October include:

Rat infestation;
Significant build-up of rodent droppings;
Presence of fruit and drain flies;
Live maggots on old food residue;
Extensive rodent droppings;
No wash hand basin with hot and cold water for food workers;
An inaccessible wash hand basin;
A complete lack of cleaning;
Accumulation of grease and food debris;
Dirty food contact equipment;
Lack of adequate food storage and contamination prevention procedures;
Persistent and historical failure to comply with food law;
No evidence of a food safety management system. 

Chief executive of the FSAI, Dr. Pamela Byrne said that "inadequate pest control measures, filthy premises and unsafe food storage are once again the primary reasons for the enforcement orders served in October".

Dr. Byrne said it is "imperative" that every food business has a proper pest control system in place, and that this is checked very regularly to avoid infestations of rodents and insects.

"With the busy Christmas period nearly upon us, food businesses must be especially vigilant to ensure compliance with the law and to protect the health of their customers," she added.