No enforcement orders served on food businesses

THE Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has confirmed that it served no enforcement orders on Wicklow food businesses last year.

The Garden County was one of a number of counties where no notices served on food businesses in relation to breaches in food safety legislation over the last 12 months.

The FSAI said 42 enforcement orders were served on food businesses for breaches in food safety legislation in 2020, a decrease of 67 per cent in comparison to 125 Enforcement Orders served in 2019. However, the agency pointed out that the decline in numbers may reflect the impact of Covid-19 which forced many food businesses to close for long periods of time over the last 12 months, rather than improvements in food safety practices.

31 closure orders, two improvement orders and nine prohibition orders were issued by environmental health officers in the HSE, veterinary inspectors in the local authorities and officers of the FSAI on food businesses throughout the country. The types of recurring food safety issues that led to enforcement orders in 2020 included unregistered and unsupervised food businesses, unsanitary conditions, evidence of rodent infestations and rodent droppings, the presence of cockroaches, failure to maintain temperatures of foodstuffs, unsuitable food storage facilities and improper or lack of water facilities.

In the report, the also FSAI highlighted the importance of food safety management systems and reminded food businesses that they have a legal responsibility to ensure the food they sell is compliant with food safety legislation and is safe to eat.