A crèche in Louth had to be closed down by for breaches of food safety legislation, due to ‘evidence of extensive rodent activity'.

According to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), six closure orders were issued to food businesses in March for a range of reasons including rodent infestation, dead cockroaches and very poor standards of basic hygiene and cleanliness.

Such orders are only issued if there is a ‘grave and immediate danger' to people.

In the case of the crèche, the entire premises had to be closed down after evidence of extensive rodent activity was found in the main food preparation area, as well as a number of rooms, including the baby room, and the nappy changing area.

The closure order was lifted a few days later when the problem had been rectified.

Other businesses affected by closure orders last month included takeaways and a restaurant.

According to FSAI chief executive, Dr Pamela Byrne, food businesses must understand that it is their legal responsibility to ensure that they are maintaining a high standard of food safety.

"Food businesses must ensure that their premises are kept clean and that they are pest proofed. Yet each month, inspectors are finding recurring incidents of filthy premises and rodent infestations.

"Enforcement orders tarnish the food industry as a whole and can damage consumer confidence. The onus is on each individual food business to take responsibility and commit to ensuring high food safety standards and compliance with the law," she said.

She added that non-compliance ‘will not be tolerated and all breaches of food safety legislation will be dealt with to the full extent of the law'.

Details of businesses issued with enforcement orders can be viewed on the FSAI website here