This comes as 16 enforcement orders were served on food businesses in July, with 12 premises being handed closure orders.
Hartigan’s has since reopened as the order, which was served on July 22, was lifted just over a week later.
The FSAI inspection report for the pub stated that food and drink served in Hartigan’s ran the risk of being unfit for human consumption, due to the fact that adequate proceedings were not in place to control pests.
In the report, details show that there were multiple holes and gaps in walls across the premises. Rodent droppings, both old and new, were noted in the room adjacent to the keg store, as well as rodent carcasses found in a snap trap. A rodent leg was found by the inspector in a snap trap in the drink store.
Most of the closure notices served last month have since been lifted, and the majority of businesses have since reopened.
The exception to this is the Boba Bar on Parnell Street, Dublin, which had an active cockroach infestation at the time the notice was served on July 23. Moving and dead cockroaches were visible on the floor, fridges, and beneath food preparation areas, according to the FSAI inspection report.
The business was described in the report to be in a dirty condition, with unclean floors collecting food debris, dirt and grease, showing a lack of effective or routine cleaning.
Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive at the FSAI, said that the multiple violations demonstrate a total disregard for food safety requirements.
“Filthy premises, unsafe food storage and inadequate pest control measures are once again the primary reasons for this month’s Enforcement Orders,” she said.
Dr Byrne continued that the violations “highlight the ongoing failure of some food businesses to maintain basic, consistent cleaning practices, and this failure poses a significant risk to public health.
“Food businesses have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of the food they produce, distribute or sell by maintaining proper storage temperatures, ensuring staff are properly trained, having stringent hygiene practices and ensuring their food businesses are fully pest proofed. Achieving a strong food safety culture requires continuous and consistent training for all team members,” Dr Byrne said.
Further reasons for the serving of some of the enforcement orders include food with expired, missing or altered use-by dates, food that was not thawed safely, and equipment like meat slicers being found congealed with fat and stale food debris.
Details of the food businesses served with Enforcement Orders are published on the FSAI’s website at www.fsai.ie.
