Wednesday, December 07, 2016

There were four Enforcement Orders handed out for food safety breaches last month.

The Chief Executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Dr Pamela Byrne, said the onus is on food businesses to ensure that they are fully compliant with food safety legislation.

Dr Byrne said: “We are urging all food businesses to have robust food safety management systems in place at all times, but particularly with the busy Christmas festive period upon us.

“To ensure that they can cope with this extra demand, food businesses must be familiar with the main factors that are easily preventable which can cause food-borne illness.”

They are:

Poor hygiene in the premises;

Inappropriate storage or inadequate refrigeration;

Inadequate cooking or re-heating;

Cross-contamination from raw to cooked food;

Infected food handler;

Contaminated raw ingredients;

Inadequately trained or supervised staff.

She said: “Food service businesses will be working flat out to meet the current Christmas demands.

“Therefore, special attention must be given to the supervision and training of new staff, both part-time and full time, in all aspects of food safety.”

There were two businesses served with Closure Orders:

* Roma Grill (take-away), The Crescent, Boyle, Roscommon

* Clonark Home Cooked Foods (bakery), Clonark, Cornafulla, Athlone, Roscommon

One Closure Order was served under the EC (Official Control of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2010, on:

* Kebab Zone (take-away), Main Street, Ballindine, Mayo

One Prohibition Order was served under the EC (Official Control of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2010, on:

* Salius Milasius (retailer), 68 Shannon Park, Edgeworthstown, Longford

Dr Byrne urged food businesses to take full advantage of the information and support provided by the inspectorate and the FSAI.

Food business owners can contact the FSAI advice line at [email protected] or visit www.fsai.ie or their Facebook page.