100+ enforcement orders served by Food Safety Authority in 2018
At a time when gourmet options and more comprehensive food offerings than ever are becoming par for the course, food safety is somewhere that convenience stores must not slip up, especially with the news that the FSAI served a whopping 109 Enforcement Orders on Irish food businesses in 2018.
Print9 January 2019
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) served 109 Enforcement Orders on food businesses during 2018 for breaches in food safety legislation. This is a massive increase of 58% on the 2017 orders, which totalled 69.
The FSAI took the opportunity of the publication of these figures to reiterate the importance of robust food safety policies and systems, stressing that the responsibility lies with the businesses to ensure the food they sell is safe to eat and their premises are compliant with legislation.
The FSAI’s report reveals that food inspectors served 95 Closure Orders, 5 Improvement Orders and 9 Prohibition Orders on food businesses throughout the country in 2018. The types of recurring food safety issues that led to Enforcement Orders were evidence of rodent infestation and rodent droppings; filthy conditions; failure to maintain correct temperatures of foodstuffs; a lack of knowledge of food safety by staff; unsuitable food storage facilities and improper or lack of water facilities for cleaning.
Dr. Pamela Byrne, chief executive, FSAI said that the increase in Enforcement Orders in 2018 was unacceptable. “There are absolutely no excuses for negligent food practices,” said Dr. Byrne. “The types of reasons cited for Enforcement Orders are simple errors that should not be happening in any food business. Enforcement Orders are served on food businesses only when a serious risk to consumer health has been established or where there are a number of ongoing serious breaches of food legislation. Non-compliance by food businesses will not be tolerated and all breaches of food safety legislation will be dealt with by the full extent of the law.”
Details of the food businesses served with Enforcement Orders are published on the FSAI’s website at www.fsai.ie. Closure Orders and Improvement Orders will remain listed on the website for a period of three months from the date of when a premises is adjudged to have corrected its food safety issue, with Prohibition Orders being listed for a period of one month.
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