Food - Thurles Information

Urgent Action To Improve Ireland’s Household & Commercial Waste Segregation Performance.

EPA Calls For Urgent Action To Improve Ireland’s Household & Commercial Waste Segregation & Recycling Performance.

Over two thirds of wastes in general waste bins could have been placed in the recycling or organic waste bins.
Food waste in commercial general waste bins is 30 per cent and in household general bins is 17%.
Plastics in the general waste bins are also significant for households (17%) and businesses (15%).
The rollout of organic waste bins to all houses, apartments, and commercial sectors needs to accelerate without delay.

he Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published the latest National Municipal Waste Characterisation Project. The project results show very little change in Ireland’s household and commercial waste management practices since 2018. Irish businesses and householders are still putting the majority of their waste into the wrong bin. Over two thirds of waste in the general waste bins could have been placed in recycling and organic waste bin.

Food waste is the most common waste in commercial general waste bins (30%) and household general waste bins (17%). Thousands of households and businesses still do not have an organic waste bin and correct food waste segregation cannot be achieved until this is addressed.

Recyclable materials such as plastics, paper, cardboard and metal account for around 24% of the household general waste bin and 37% of the commercial general waste bin.

Urgent action is needed to improve Ireland’s segregation and recycling performance to achieve municipal recycling rate targets and transition to a circular economy. The waste industry needs to do more by providing organic waste bins to all households and commercial premises and support awareness campaigns to make segregation easier.

Commenting on the results, Mr Micheál Lehane, (Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Sustainability), said “The results of the latest municipal waste characterisation are disappointing. Currently businesses and householders are putting recyclables, food waste and packaging waste into our general bins. This is a lost opportunity. Organic waste bins need to be rolled out urgently to businesses and households currently without this service. Implementation of the new commercial waste regulations is needed without delay.”

Access to recycling infrastructure, such as civic amenity sites and bring banks, needs to be made easier for householders to support segregation of special, bulky and hazardous wastes.

The rollout of organic waste bins to houses, apartments, and commercial sectors needs be enforced to ensure waste collectors are providing the same level of service to customers.

Mr Warren Phelan, (Programme Manager of the EPA’s Circular Economy Programme) noted: “Our recycling targets and transition to a circular economy are currently off track. There are significant opportunities to divert recyclable materials from the general waste bin, but householders and the commercial sector need more support from the waste industry to make it easier to segregate their waste correctly. Targeted awareness campaigns on segregation and focused enforcement activities are also needed.”

Further information on what is in our household and commercial bins is available on the EPA Website HERE.

Undeclared Peanut & Sesame Seeds In Batch Of Bombaymix Sweet & Spicy Ethnic Snacks.

Food Allergen Alert, Monday, September 18th, 2023.

Allergen(s): Peanuts, Sesame Seeds
Product Identification: Bombaymix Sweet and Spicy Ethnic Snacks; pack size: 200g.
Batch Code Batch: E/1-25-09; Best before date: 20/03/24.
Country Of Origin: Bangladesh.

The Food Safety Authority, of Ireland [FSAI] have declared the above batch of Bombaymix Sweet and Spicy Ethnic Snacks, (identified by image shown above), contains peanut and sesame seeds, latter which are not declared in the list of ingredients on the packet.
This, for some consumers, may make the batch unsafe for those allergic to or intolerant of peanuts and/or sesame seeds.

Two Enforcement Orders Served On Cashel, Co. Tipperary Food Businesses.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today reported that ten Enforcement Orders were served on food businesses during the month of August for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998 and the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020. The Enforcement Orders were issued by Environmental Health Officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE) and officers of the FSAI.

Four Closure Orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on:

(1) Cashel Curry and Pizza House (restaurant/café), No. 41 Main Street Cashel, Co. Tipperary.
(2) Ginzeng (restaurant/café), Unit 253, Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15
(3) Bakers and Baristas (restaurant/café) (Closed area: The external dry goods storage area for this premises, housing the cold room and freezer room. Access to the cold and freezer room is permitted), Unit 230, Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15.
(4) D Grill (restaurant/café), No.40 Aungier Street, Dublin 2.

Five Closure Orders were served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on:
(1) Paddy O’Dwyer Quality Meats Ltd. (Butcher shop) [Closed activity: The process of cooling down cooked foods (such as prepared dinners) ], Unit No. 3, Upper Friar Street, Cashel, Co. Tipperary.
(2) The Bernard Shaw (restaurant/café) (Closed areas: The basement area of the premises including food rooms, staff facilities and adjacent storage rooms), Cross Guns Bridge, Glasnevin, Dublin 9.
(3) McSorley’s Centra, Old Dublin Road, Enniscorthy, Wexford.
(4) Dalesann Haulage Limited, Jamestown House, Jamestown Business Park, Jamestown Road, Dublin 11.
(5) Mizzoni Pizza (Take Away), 12 Railway Street, Navan, Meath.

One Prohibition Order was served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations 2020 on:

(1) M Vape (retailer), 22 Castle Street, Sligo

Some of the reasons for the Enforcement Orders in August include: serious flooding in the basement, with damp and mould on the walls; filthy and flooded staff toilets; a defective ice machine leaking down the stairwell into the basement; bags of ice stored in non-food grade plastic bags, risking contamination; bird faeces and dead flies found in multiple locations throughout the premises; evidence of rodent activity in the cold room and freezer room, with inadequate pest control procedures in place; a leaking roof; food stored at unsafe temperatures, with a lack of temperature monitoring records; a failure to provide hot running water at sinks, risking contamination of food and food contact materials; the sale of unauthorised products; a business had not been approved by a competent authority, where it was not possible to verify compliance with food safety legislation; a lack of allergen information, both online and onsite; staff not effectively trained or supervised with regards to food safety and best practice.

Commenting, Dr Pamela Byrne, (Chief Executive, FSAI,) said that food businesses must operate strict food safety procedures at all times and that they need to be extra vigilant during periods of warm weather.

“Warmer weather can bring challenges, and both food businesses and staff must be attentive to potential issues, whether this be increased insect activity or issues with temperature controls. Food businesses have a legal requirement to ensure that hot and cold food is prepared with care and then stored appropriately, maintaining the hot or cold chain throughout preparation, storage and point of sale.

Incidents of flooding were recorded in some of the August Enforcement Orders. These pose a serious threat to public health. Flood water that has entered your food business may have been contaminated with sewage, animal and other waste from drains or surrounding areas. There is then a substantial risk of onward contamination of food, equipment and food contact surfaces with harmful bacteria or even chemicals. Following flooding and the subsequent clean-up operation, it is advisable to speak to your local Environmental Health Officer for more advice before re-opening,” said Dr Byrne.

Details of the food businesses served with Enforcement Orders are published on the FSAI’s website at www.fsai.ie.
Closure Orders and Improvement Orders will remain listed in the enforcement reports on the website for a period of three months from the date of when a premises is adjudged to have corrected its food safety issue, with Prohibition Orders being listed for a period of one month.

Recall Of Batches Of Lidl Retailed ‘McEnnedy Corn Dogs’ Due To Listeria monocytogenes.

Product Identification: McEnnedy Corn Dogs; pack size: 530g.

Batch Code Use by dates: 28.04.2024, 10.06.2024 and 10.08.2024.

Country Of Origin: Germany.

The above identified batches of McEnnedy Corn Dogs are being recalled by Lidl, on the insistance of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), due to the presence of Listeria monocytogenes.

FSAI request that ‘Recall notices’ be displayed at point-of-sale in Lidl stores.

Nature Of Danger:
Symptoms of Listeria monocytogenes infection can include mild flu-like symptoms, or gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
In rare cases, the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications. Some people are more vulnerable to Listeria monocytogenes infections, including pregnant women, babies, and people with weakened immune systems, including the elderly.
The incubation period (time between initial infection and first symptoms appearing) is on average 3 weeks but can range between 3 and 70 days.

Consumers are advised not to eat the implicated, identified batches.

FSAI Recall Batch Of Lidl Vemondo Vegetarian Chicken-Style Strips.

Product Identification: Vemondo Vegetarian Chicken-Style Strips, pack size: 175g
Batch Code – Use by date: 07.09.24.
Country Of Origin: Germany.

Lidl Ireland, following the request of the Food Safety Association of Ireland (FSAI), is recalling the above batch of Vemondo Vegetarian Chicken-Style Strips, due to an incorrect year on the use-by date.

The correct use-by date is 07.09.23.
Customers are therefore advised not to consume the product after 07.09.23, when the product may be unfit for human consumption.

Recall notices will be displayed at points-of-sale, in all implicated Lidl stores.