Rodent concerns among breaches prompting food orders

Evidence of an extensive active rodent infestation and serious hygiene failings featured among the reasons for four enforcement orders served on food businesses in October.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said on 11 November that HSE environmental health officers had issued three Closure Orders and one Prohibition Order for breaches of food safety legislation. The orders were served under the FSAI Act 1998 and the European Union’s 2020 official controls regulations.

Two Closure Orders were served under the FSAI Act 1998 on:

• Pizza Max, a restaurant and café at 64 Talbot Street, Dublin 1.
• JJ Ramen – Stillorgan, a takeaway at 2 The Hill, Stillorgan, Co Dublin.

A third Closure Order was served under the 2020 regulations on The Smoky Island, a retailer at Robinscourt, Togher, Cork. The business also received a Prohibition Order under the FSAI Act 1998. The FSAI listed a range of reasons for the October orders, without linking each finding to an individual business:

• Evidence of an extensive active rodent infestation, with droppings throughout a premises, including beneath chest freezers, in and on food-contact materials such as delivery bags, and on shelving where food containers were stored.
• Gnawed packaging in a food storage area, and raw meat defrosting in a sink used to wash ready-to-eat food.
• No disinfectant chemicals available to clean and sanitise work tools, surfaces and equipment adequately.
• An inability to demonstrate that relevant criteria for ready-to-eat products made on a premises had been identified, that suitable microbiological sampling and testing had been established, or that shelf-life had been assessed to show compliance with food safety criteria throughout that period.
• Food prepared in a room that did not allow adequate hygiene practices, alongside the absence of a food safety management system based on HACCP principles.

FSAI chief executive Greg Dempsey said: “It is deeply concerning to see some food businesses continuing to fall short in respect of fundamental food safety requirements, particularly where there is evidence of rodent activity, poor hygiene practices, and inadequate controls to prevent cross-contamination. These are serious breaches that pose a risk to consumer health and are entirely preventable.” With the Christmas period approaching, Mr Dempsey urged businesses to prepare for increased demand and ensure robust food safety procedures were in place. Separately, the FSAI gave an update on a Prohibition Order served on Gary Peter on 13 August 2026 in relation to Live5D Health, Riverside Offices, Bridge St, Boyle, Co Roscommon. The order was appealed to the District Court, subsequently revoked, and the appeal was struck out at Carrick-on-Shannon District Court on 23 October 2026. The FSAI also published the text of three other Prohibition Orders relating to Live5D Health that were served in August. Details of businesses subject to enforcement orders are available on the FSAI website. Closure and Improvement Orders remain in its enforcement reports for three months after a premises is judged to have corrected the food safety issue; Prohibition Orders remain listed for one month.