Food inspectors shut down more than 100 businesses for various health and safety breaches in 2025, it has emerged, reports The Mirror.
In total, health officers issued 127 Enforcement Orders last year, a slight decrease from the 132 served in 2024.
Breaking this down, 102 of these orders were for the business to close, 23 were prohibition clauses, and two were improvement demands, reports The Mirror.
This includes the Quack N Wok in the IFSC in Dublin after health inspectors discovered non-compliance.
In the report, health inspectors wrote: “The drainage system was not adequate and was malfunctioning. This was likely to result in food and food contact equipment being contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, rendering it unfit for human consumption,” reports The Mirror.
They also found that food prepared in the eatery could contain “fecal matter”.
The report stated: “Food, including chicken and duck, was likely to have been contaminated with extraneous matter such as foul water containing faecal matter by the dirty hands and clothing of food handlers who were preparing the food,” reports The Mirror.
Quack N Wok was shut on December 8 and remains closed, reports The Mirror.
Also in December, Ella Okonufua was ordered to shut down her business, which was trading as EB Food Essentials Coolanagh, Ballickmoyler in Laois.
Inspectors said: “The food business operator had not notified the competent authority of this food business establishment with a view to registration of the establishment. Therefore, official controls have not been carried out to verify compliance with food law,” reports The Mirror.
They also took issue with the produce’s traceability.
The report continued that Okonufua was unable to identify the suppliers of certain products, including three boxes of goat meat in the freezer that were in meat-branded boxes labelled as lamb, brisket and silverside flat, three unlabelled white plastic bags containing goat meat and 35 bags of snails imported from Nigeria.
The order was issued on December 10 and has yet to be lifted.
Meanwhile, Ruby’s Cakes in Durhamstown Castle, Bohermeen, Navan, was shut down due to an “active mouse infestation in the premises,” reports The Mirror.
The closure order was issued on December 11 and lifted on December 15.
Speaking about last year, FSAI boss Greg Dempsey said: “While the total number of Enforcement Orders in 2025 decreased slightly compared to 2024, it is disappointing that we continue to see enforcement action being necessary due to fundamental breaches, such as pest infestations, poor hygiene, unsafe storage of food, inadequate staff training, and the absence of food safety management systems. Additionally, we have found instances of unregistered food businesses operating illegally without notifying the competent authority, therefore bypassing essential food safety controls and putting consumers’ health at risk,” reports The Mirror.
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