County Roscommon business issued with closure order for breaches of food safety legislation
The business based at Ballinlough has been issued with a closure order.
A County Roscommon wholesaler/ distributor has been issued with a closure order following an inspection by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) for breaches of food safety legislation.
The order was served on Shadi Kezze of Houda Foods at Unit 5, Ballinlough Business Park, Ballinlough on May 27th.
In a report an officer of the Health Service Executive acting under the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act, stated that the order was enforced for a number of reasons including that “adequate procedures were not in place to control pests and mouse droppings were visible on the floor in the warehouse where food is stored.”
It further stated: “The layout, design and construction of the food premises does not permit good food hygiene practices including protection against contamination and in particular, pest control. Food is stored in a warehouse that is shared with another non-food business. There is no physical separation between the businesses in the warehouse.”
The report highlighted that “food which had been placed on the market was not adequately labelled or identified to facilitate it's traceability through relevant documentation or information. There was no labelling or traceability information for food such as green olives, red pepper paste, dried fruits, nuts etc. There was no supplier traceability such as invoices, delivery dockets or receipts.”
On May 28th a Prohibition Order was also served on the premises.
The Enforcement Order was issued by Environmental Health Officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE) and by officers of the FSAI.
Nationally ten Closure Orders and five Prohibition Orders were served on food businesses during the month of May.
Mr Greg Dempsey, Chief Executive, FSAI, warned that every food business must be registered with a competent authority and that all food businesses have a legal obligation to ensure the food they sell is safe to eat.
“The high number of Enforcement Orders in May is disappointing, especially as the type of non-compliances, such as unclean premises and pest infestations, are all preventable where the business has a food safety management system in place and staff are properly trained. Additionally, while the vast majority of food businesses comply with their legal requirement to register their business prior to operating, unfortunately, some choose to operate without the knowledge or supervision of the competent authorities, potentially exposing consumers to unsafe or fraudulent food. These businesses will be pursued using the legal powers available to us.”
