The Food Safety Authority has warned Irish food businesses to maintain high standards or face the consequences.
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Five food businesses received food safety enforcement orders in the last two months, and three were told to immediately close all or part of their premises.
The names and addresses of these businesses will now be posted on the FSAI website, www.fsai.ie, alongside the other 64 businesses closed after failing to meet Irish food safety standards.
Spokesperson for the authority, Ms Jane O' Reilly told ireland.comtoday that although the rate of closure throughout the country was relatively small - 43 closures this year out of over 37,000 food premises - the FSAI's aim was to lower the number of cases and improve standards.
"We really want to see a blank website", she said, adding that improved measures at the FSAI would also help deter future offenders.
Enforcement officers, responsible for meting out closure orders, had to do so through the High Court in the past, said Ms O’ Reilly. Now, however, they have the power to close businesses once they have the backing of the FSAI.
Ms O’ Reilly said typical reasons for closures included infringements of safety regulations such as "filthy premises", contaminated food products and unhygienic practices.
And bearing in mind the effect of bad reputation on a food business, she said: "If you’re in the business of selling food, you shouldn’t be up on our website".
