Mould, rat droppings, meat ‘unfit for human consumption’ and more closes 6 Irish businesses

Rat droppings, mould, bad staff hygiene and shocking storage conditions are just some of the reasons businesses had to close their doors – or sections of their stores – last month.

Ballaghaderreen Grocery Store in Roscommon, the African Shop/Costello Stores on Shandon Street in Cork and RBK Poultry Limited on Chapelizod Road in Dublin have been told to close.

Sections of Hole in the Wall in Cabra, Casey’s Pub in Limerick and The Cosy Corner Outside Catering in Donegal have also been shut due to breaches of food safety.

In the case of one store – the African Shop/Costello Stores – on the north side of Cork city, the conditions found were “likely to be a grave and immediate danger to public health.”

The inspector’s report painted a grim picture, revealing “rodent droppings” were found on the floor, on shelves and on packets of food.

Bags of ground rice and maize were found damaged by “pest gnawing” in the Cork food shop.

At Dublin’s RBK Poultry, the store was discovered to be keeping meat “unfit for human consumption.”

The lack of food safety measures on the premises forced the FSAI to shut the store.

At the Ballaghaderreen Grocery Store in Roscommon, a food safety inspector found piles of meat waste sitting in a trolley.

Dubbed “an attraction for vermin,” the trolley and the poor hygiene of staff prompted a closure order to be served on the rural shop.

Parts of other premises across the country were closed, most notably store rooms that didn’t reach food safety standards and hygiene.

"It is disappointing that month after month, food inspectors find similar, basic and fundamental breaches of food law,” said Dr Pamela Byrne, the Chief Executive of the FSAI.

77 enforcement orders were served on Irish food businesses in 2022, including 65 closure orders.

“Through the hard work of our partner agencies and food inspectors in 2022, food businesses that disregarded the law and put consumer health at risk were stopped. However, this should not be happening,” she added.

“Enforcement Orders are served on food businesses only when a risk to consumer health has been identified or where there are a number of ongoing breaches of food legislation.

"Food businesses should not be falling short on their legal requirements. They should adhere to food safety regulations at all times”