Tipperary restaurant served with closure order following breaches of food safety regulations

A Tipperary restaurant was served with a closure order by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) last month due to a range of food safety concerns.

Barne Lodge, outside Clonmel, was served with the closure order on April 17 due to a range of concerns raised by the FSAI inspector.

The inspector found that there were issues around cleaning and sanitation, maintenance and pest prevention, protection against contamination, hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP), and food safety culture.

The FSAI report noted that the Tipperary restaurant "was in an unclean condition overall".

Evidence of non-compliance with EU food safety regulations included; "significant build-up of grease was observed within the ductwork and filters of the extraction canopy in the kitchen. There was evidence of dripping of grease above the grill and deep fryer.

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"The floor throughout the kitchen was unclean. There was accumulated grease and debris under equipment and at floor-to-wall junctions. The floors in the dry goods store, the keg room, the external food store, staff changing areas and staff toilet facilities were unclean. Insects and leaves were trapped in the mesh of the damaged insect screen beneath the roof window in the cooking area, and the insulation of the beer lines adjacent to clean drinking glasses at the bar was grossly unclean," the inspector's report noted.

"The internal surfaces and door seals of several pieces of refrigeration equipment were unclean. A hand blender (which had not been used on the day of the inspection) was stored in an unclean condition, and accumulated mould was observed on internal surfaces of the ice machine (used to make ice for cooling drinks)," the report further noted.

The Clonmel restaurant was found to be non-compliant in the area of maintenance and pest prevention due to the kitchen floor being in "a poor state of repair with areas of floor surface missing. There was an unsealed joint between parts of the kitchen floor where dirt had accumulated," the inspector found.

"The premises was not maintained in good repair and condition. For example: The door of a service fridge adjacent to the hand wash basin in the kitchen was hanging loose and there was a hole in the kitchen wall (above the dessert fridge) with electrical cables protruding from it.

"There were gaps around the waste water pipe under the equipment wash sink in the kitchen where this pipe passes through the external wall. This gap may permit the entry of pests," the inspector stated.

Other evidence of non-compliance with EU food safety regulations included: "An exposed role of cling film (a direct food contact material) was stored adjacent to a filthy cloth on a work surface in the kitchen. The HACCP based procedures which had been put in place were not effectively implemented in practice," the inspector noted on the day of their visit.

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In the area of food safety culture, the inspector found that "There has been repeated non-compliance with regulatory requirements. An unsatisfactory level of compliance with food safety legislation was observed during previous inspections," going back as far as 2022.

The closure order on the Clonmel restaurant was lifted two days later, on April 19.

Greg Dempsey, Chief Executive, FSAI said: "Food businesses owe it to their customers that the food they are selling is safe to eat. Not only is it the right thing to do, it’s also a legal requirement under food law. Consumers have a right to trust that the food they buy is safe to eat and that it complies with all relevant food safety legislation."