A MCDONALD’S RESTAURANT in Co Louth is among eight food businesses issued a closure order by the Food Safety Authority last month.

A ninth business, Chillers Restaurant and Lounge in Liffey Valley, was served a prohibition order.

The McDonald’s restaurant, at The Waterfront, Rathmullen Road in Drogheda was issued the closure order to apply to a storage unit at the side of the premises. The inspector noted that there were “rodent droppings observed on shelving [and] food equipment within the storage unit”.

PPE and cleaning equipment, as well as paper roll used for drying workers’ hands were stored in the unit – leading to a significant risk of cross contamination. 

The eight other restaurants served with closure orders were:

• Bk Foods Limited (Wholesaler/Distributor), Clongorey, Newbridge, Kildare
• Paulista (Take Away), 121 Dorset Street Upper, Dublin 1
• Prime Pizza & Kebab (Take Away), 281 Hyde Road, Limerick
• Wau Asian Cuisine Limited (Closed activity: The preparation and sale, including onsite, takeaway and internet sale, of sushi) (Restaurant/Café), Bridge Street, Trim, Meath
• Super Chef Takeaway, Unit 5, Ashbourne Court, Bridge Street, Ashbourne, Meath
• Burger Smash (Take Away), 4 Langford Street, Killorglin, Kerry
• Small Chops & More (Service Sector), The Courtyard, Baker Hall, Navan, Meath

Of these, Prime Pizza & Kebab, Super Chef Takeaway, Burger Smash, and Paulista have since had their closure orders lifted.

Many of the closure orders included references to inadequate hygiene practises and a high risk of contamination – but other non-compliances were more serious.

Paulista, on Dublin’s Dorset Street, was found to have an active cockroach infestation with live and dead cockroaches in the hand wash sink, inside a freezer where food was prepared, and on a water tank.

Its basement floor was found to be “greasy with congealed dirt and grease within the wall to floor junctions”, an inspector wrote in their report. 

In Ashbourne in Co Meath, Super Chef Takeaway was found to have its hand contact surfaces “dirty with dust, grease and food debris build-up in all areas”. Hardened lumps of grease were also observed, and foods were not kept at the correct temperatures.

FSAI’s chief executive Greg Dempsey said it was “disappointing to see the same issues, such as poor hygiene and pest control problems, being identified each month”. 

He said the FSAI would be taking action against the operators of the restaurants to protect consumers and retain the public’s confidence in the food system.