Subway branch among venues served with food closure orders

A Subway in Drogheda, an Indian restaurant in Dublin 2 and a Mexican restaurant in the shadow of Croke Park were among the establishments served with closure orders by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) last month.

The FSAI issued five closure orders on businesses in February for breaches of food safety legislation.

Closure orders are served by HSE environmental health inspectors where it is deemed that there is or there is likely to be a grave and immediate danger to public health at or in the premises.

Express Pizza on Lord Edward Street, Limerick, the Punjab Pantry on Richmond Street South in Dublin 2 and Synergy Subs Ltd, trading as Subway, in Mellview House, the M1 Retail Park, Drogheda, Co Louth, were all served with closure orders under the FSAI Act, 1998.

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A further two closure orders were served on Jalapeno Mexican Cuisine on the Lower Drumcondra Road, Dublin, and Culleton's Fish & Chips on Main Street, Bansha, Co Tipperary, under the EC (Official Control of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2010.

Legal obligation

The chief executive of the FSAI, Dr Pamela Byrne, said that all food businesses in Ireland should fully understand their legal obligation to ensure consumers are not exposed to unsafe food.

“Closure orders, regardless of the legislation under which they were served, indicate that not all food businesses are complying with the law and, as a result, are potentially putting consumers’ health at serious risk,” she said.

“It is highly important that food businesses have a strong food safety culture in their business, which can be achieved through ongoing training of all members of their team.

“Failure to recognise the importance of food safety in a food business reflects poorly not only on that business, but also on the entire food industry.”