Trendy diner is closed over hygiene fears
A POPULAR Asian restaurant has been closed down after inspectors found blood-soaked cloths and raw meat left on food preparation surfaces, a shocking report shows.
Duck on Fade Street in central Dublin was ordered to shut last month and there was no response from it yesterday about the Food Safety Authority of Ireland inspection.
In a damning handwritten report, the FSAI inspector revealed there was blood from raw ducks dripping onto ingredient bags and containers.
The report also listed ‘water and blood-soaked cloths left on food preparation surfaces, flies observed on both raw ducks and equipment, with whole raw ducks submerged in water in both meat and vegetable sinks’.
Floor, walls, shelves, equipment and staff uniforms were ‘contaminated with water and blood from the sink’. There was also ‘visible mould growth on many structural and food contact surfaces, indicating an absence of adequate cleaning and disinfection’.
The premises also had an ‘ongoing cockroach infestation evident in food preparation areas’.
There were also no hand-washing facilities where raw meat was being handled and no probe thermometer to check the temperature of cooked food.
The inspector also found gaps in the external walls and holes in the ceiling where pests such as rats and mice could climb inside the building.
The inspector’s report from last month also stated: ‘Blood from raw duck was noted to be dripping onto containers and bags of rice, flour and sugar.’
Duck describes itself as a Hong Kong-style BBQ meat deli and before its snap closure on December 6, it boasted: ‘At Duck we are passionate about bringing the authentic flavours of Hong Kongstyle
Roasted in report: Duck on Fade Street in the capital
roasted meats to Dublin.
‘These wonderfully succulent and delicious tasting meats are a staple of Hong Kong cuisine. The result is a meat that is tasty, succulent and encased in a delicious shining skin.’
However, it is currently listed as ‘temporarily closed’ and its website says: ‘We’re not currently accepting online orders.’
Elsewhere, the Sausage Paradise butcher’s shop in Ballaghaderreen, Co. Roscommon, was also ordered to close as there was a ‘grave and immediate danger to public health’. The shop could not be contacted yesterday.
FSAI chief executive Dr Pamela Byrne said she had hoped to see a reduction in the number of enforcement orders needing to be served last year, but ‘disappointingly, this was not the case’.
‘As a result of the inspections carried out by environmental health officers, local authority veterinary inspectors, sea-fisheries protection officers and FSAI officers, a total of 92 food businesses were served with legal orders for breaches of food safety law in 2023,’ she said.
‘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.’