Rat droppings found on shop floor as rodent infestation among nine orders issued to food businesses in May

Both closure orders, one at a petrol station in Cobh and another at a takeaway in Youghal, were among nine enforcement orders served on food businesses during the month of May.

An inspector for the HSE noted a dead rodent was found under a store room freezer at the Applegreen petrol station in Tiknock in Cobh, while rodent droppings were found on the floor of a disused cold room in the store room. The closure order was issued on May 14 and lifted on May 17.

“Rodent droppings were found on the shelves under the sink in the staff canteen which is attached to the food store room. Rodent droppings were found under the white chest freezer in the store room,” the inspector wrote.

There was also evidence of the infestation on the shop floor, including another dead rodent under a fridge, droppings found “on the floor under the shelves storing large minerals on the shop floor” and “on the lower shelf storing minerals on the shop floor”.

In a closure order issued on May 22 and not yet lifted, the Istanbul Bite takeaway on Upper Cork Hill in Youghal was found to have a “large accumulation of rodent droppings” in the restaurant’s boiler room.

The boiler room is attached to the potato peeling room of the takeaway and it was those two rooms impacted by the closure order.

“The grill cover of the drain located underneath the potato cutting machine was damaged, providing a potential pest ingress point,” the inspector wrote.

Meanwhile four closure orders were issued in Dublin, Johnson Best Food takeaway in Dublin 1 for failure to comply with regulations on temperature control, thawing, cleaning and hygiene. The closure order was issued on May 29 and has not yet been lifted.

Raw frozen meat, including turkey, was found stored at room temperature during inspection “and no attempt was made by staff members to place the foodstuffs in a suitably temperature controlled refrigerator or freezer unit”.

“Rice cooked at 11am in the morning, was noted stored in a hot holding unit which was not turned on. A temperature of 48.9C was recorded at the time of inspection over four hours from the time of cooking.”

The Dublin Pizza Company takeaway on Aungier Street in Dublin 2 received a closure order for cracked, dirty floor tiles, cobwebs and dead insects found on floors, window sills and walls. The order was issued on May 29 and lifted on May 31.

“There were accumulations of dirt on hand-touch surfaces such as fridge handles, switches, wires, plugs and sockets throughout the preparation room and shop,” said the inspector.

“The seals of multiple fridges in the preparation room and shop were damaged (some were significantly damaged and peeling from doors), and black mould growth and dirt was evident.”

Mizzoni’s Pizza in Glasnevin, Dublin 9 failed to be kept in clean condition, staff were not trained in “basic principles of food safety”, flies were found in an area where waste was stored and “there was no confidence in the management’s commitment to ensuring food safety”.

The order, issued on May 23, was lifted on June 4.

D1 Cafe and Bakery on Dublin 1’s Dorset Street received a closure order on May 2, which has not yet been lifted, after it was found one sink was being used to wash dirty equipment and for food preparation.

The cafe’s cold chain was not maintained with products including salads, sauces, milk, butter, cake and meat stored at temperatures from 6.6C to 18.6C.