Offaly restaurant served with Closure Order by HSE in August

An Offaly restaurant was served with a Closure Order by the HSE in August for a number of breaches of Food Safety Legislation. 

Cafe India on Harbour Street in Tullamore was served with the Closure Order on Monday, August 19 and the Closure Order was lifted on Wednesday, August 21. 

A number of reasons for the closure were listed in the Closure Order.

According to the Closure Order, there was evidence that articles, fittings and equipment coming into contact with food were not effectively cleaned and disinfected. There was evidence that cleaning and disinfection was not taking place at a frequency sufficient to avoid any risk of contamination.

According to the Closure Order, three containers of unlabeled cooked chicken were found in the under counter fridge and in
both freezers and it adds that the lack of adequate labelling poses a risk of contaminated food being placed on the market which is a risk to public health

According to the Closure Order, items were stored in the external yard and were not protected from the risk of contamination including an uncovered box of tomatoes and an open container of cream which was in use was noted to be past its use by date.

According to the Closure Order, there was no evidence to demonstrate that the food workers were trained in food safety
commensurate with their duties or in the application of the HACCP principles. The food workers demonstrated poor food safety knowledge when questioned. It adds that food handlers that are inadequately trained or instructed in food safety can pose a risk to food safety

According to the Closure Order, written allergen information was not provided to consumers for the traditional Indian desserts on the menu adding that there was no allergen information available to consumers on the online ordering platform.

The Closure Order can be viewed in full on the Food Safety Authority of Ireland website by clicking here.