A Tipperary butcher had a closure order served on part of their business by the Food Safety Authority last month.
A HSE inspection at Paul Tobin Butchers on Abbey Road in Clonmel found a number of issues which led to a partial closure from September 5th to 11th.
The closure order related to the production and processing of all cooked and ready-to-eat food on the premises but did not affect the sale of raw meat.
A HSE inspector found seven breaches of legislation during a visit to the premises.
A poor standard of cleanliness was observed with a significant build-up of food debris, spillages and engrained dirt on the floor in the cooked/ready-to eat foods preparation area.
The blast chiller used for cooling down cooked foods was located beside the mincing machine which is used for preparing raw minced meat with the potential risk of cross contamination of ready-to-eat food with harmful bacteria.
The wash hand basin in the cooked/ready-to-eat foods preparation area was located in an inaccessible corner of the room while no hand drying facilities were provided.
The cooked meat slicer, which the HSE official was informed had not been used on the day of the inspection, had been put away in an unclean condition
Chilled foods were being stored at potentially unsafe temperatures between 9 and 13.4 degrees when they should have been below 5 degrees
Hygiene standards observed at the time of the inspection indicated inadequate awareness of food safety hazards.
