Dublin restaurant shut after ‘bucket of brown liquid’ found

An unidentifiable "bucket of brown liquid" was one of the reasons a Dublin restaurant was forced to shut down in January.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) released their latest batch of enforcement and closure orders, which saw four restaurants in the country hit with closure orders.

Three Closure Orders were served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020.

One of the restaurants forced to shut was Chillers Restaurant & Lounge in Dublin.

Among the reasons it was forced to shut was due to a "bucket full of brown unidentifiable liquid containing white pipes beneath the sink in the bar area."

The report also said the floor beneath the microwave area was in poor repair and damaged such that it cannot be cleaned
adequately.

The inspection also found an accumulation of grease deposits in the ceiling tiles above a utensil wash sink, and dirty uniforms being stored in a dry goods store.

Closure orders were also issued to the White Sands Hotel (Closed area: the small kitchen ground floor), on the Coast Road, Portmarnock, Co Dublin.

Rodent activity led to the closure of the small kitchen on the ground floor.

A closure issue was also issued to O’Connell’s Foodstore in Bansha, Co Tipperary.

The inspection found to have food with ‘use by’ dates for the purpose of sale or supply, including milk with a use by date of January 15th, being found during an inspection on January 19th.

In the Shamrock Lodge in Finglas, Co Dublin, who were issued a closure order served under the FSAI Act, 1998,  the kitchen was also closed off after it was found to have a severe leak that required four or five buckets to be placed on the floor, which the FSAI said "posed a grave and immediate danger to public health."

Commenting today, Mr Greg Dempsey, Chief Executive, FSAI, highlighted the need for food businesses to implement a rigorous food safety management system with their business.

“Inspectors are finding recurring incidents of unhygienic practices and rodent infestations in food businesses. Implementing and maintaining a food safety management system is a basic requirement and should be of the highest importance for food businesses. Maintaining a clean premises is not a ‘nice to have’ - it is a basic legal requirement.

"All food businesses have a duty of care to their customers to serve food that is prepared in a clean premises and is safe to eat. There is no excuse for bad practice.”