Thurles Information

Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) Issue Two Food Alerts.

Alert Summary (1).
Recall of specific batches of K. O’Connell Fishmongers Irish Smoked Salmon due to the presence of Listeria monocytogenes.

Alert Notification: 2023.28
Product Identification: Please see table below.
Country Of Origin: Ireland

Message:
The below batches of K O’Connell Fishmongers Irish Smoked Salmon are being recalled due to the presence of Listeria monocytogenes. Recall notices will be displayed at all points-of-sale.

Batch Code: SS30523, Pack size: 150g, 375g, 500g and 1kg, Use by date: 25/11/2023
Batch Code: SS31323, Pack size: 150g, 375g, 500g and 1kg, Use by date: 1/12/2023

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.

Action Required: By Manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, caterers & retailers:
Retailers are requested to remove the implicated batches from sale and display recall notices at point-of-sale.
Caterers should not use the implicated batches.

Consumers:
Consumers are advised not to eat the implicated batches.

___________________________________________________________________________

Alert Summary (2).
Undeclared Sulphites in multiple batches of Butler’s Pantry products
Allergen(s): Sulphur dioxide and sulphites
Product Identification: See product details hereunder.
Batch Codes: See also product details hereunder.

Message:
The batches of Butler’s Pantry products contain sulphites which are not declared on the list of ingredients. This may make the affected batches unsafe for consumers who are allergic to or intolerant of sulphites or sulphur dioxide.

Thurles Man Receives Fine & Suspended Sentence Following Cannabis Seizure.

A 26-year-old Thurles, Co. Tipperary man, named as Mr Dean Champion, formerly with an address at Wolfe Tone Place, Liberty Square, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, has appeared in court having been first arrested on December 9th, 2021 last, following advertisements offering cannabis for sale.

At the time of his arrest Mr Champion was residing at an apartment on Washington St, in Cork city and had advertised cannabis using Snapchat, latter the social media messaging app that allows users to send messages that self-destruct after a few seconds.
The cannabis being offered by Mr Champion was being offered for sale in various weights.

Cork Garda Divisional Drugs Unit attended at his accommodation on Washington Street, armed with a warrant granting the right to search the home of Mr Campion. The accused was located, present outside the property, thus allowing Gardaí, to use his key to gain entry to the accommodation.

On entry, Garda officers recovered €43,000 worth of cannabis, together with €200 in cash. Mr Campion was immediately arrested at the scene and on being later interviewed; eventually pleaded guilty to charges made against him and cooperated with interviewing Gardaí.

In Court, presiding Judge Mr James McCourt stated that the quantity of over 2kg of cannabis, brought the seizure to well over the €13,000 value which allows for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. However, having considering the full factors in the case, Judge McCourt imposed a fine of €2,000 with a suspended 4-year sentence on condition that Mr Champion remains of good behaviour.

Death Of Helen Dalton, Formerly Kincora Terrace, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

It was with great sadness that we learned of the death, yesterday Monday 13th November 2023, of Mrs Helen Dalton (née Murphy), Knocknapisha, Ballylooby, Cahir, Co. Tipperary, and formerly of Kincora Terrace, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Pre-deceased by her son Thomas; Mrs Dalton passed away peacefully at Tipperary University Hospital, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.

Her passing is most deeply regretted and very sadly missed by her loving husband Tom, sons Pat and John, daughters Vera and Joanne, brothers John (Murphy) and Jimmy (Murphy), sisters Pattie (Heffernan), Margaret (Syron) and Maura (Enright), son-in- law Dermot, daughter-in-law Ping, grandchildren Rachel, Amy, Sarah and Aidan, special niece Susan, brothers-in-law, sister-in-law, nephews, nieces, extended relatives, neighbours and friends.

Requiescat in Pace.

Funeral Arrangements.

The earthly remains of Mrs Dalton will repose at her home [E21 RR70] on Wednesday afternoon next, November 15th, from 5:00pm to 8:00pm.
Her funeral cortège will be received into the Church of Our Lady and St. Kieran, Ballylooby, Cahir on Thursday morning, November 16th, to further repose for Requiem Mass at 11:30am, followed by interment, immediately afterwards, in the adjoining graveyard.

For those persons who are unable to attend the funeral service for Mrs Dalton, same can be viewed, streamed live online HERE.

The extended Dalton family wish to express their appreciation for your understanding at this difficult time, and have made arrangements for those persons wishing to send messages of condolence, to use the link shown HERE.

Note Please: Family flowers only. Donations in lieu, if desired to Friends of St. Theresa’s Hospital, Clogheen, or Vee Valley or Cahir Day Care Centres.

Suaimhneas síoraí dá h-anam dílis i dteannta na Naomh agus na n-aingeal.

Local Authorities Must Prioritise Environmental Protection.

Local Authorities Must Prioritise Environmental Protection To Improve Air, Water Quality & Increase Waste Recycling.

Local Authorities play a vital role in protecting our environment and carried out over 197,000 environmental inspections in 2022.
Local authorities need to prioritise enforcement of the roll-out and use of 3-bin systems to improve segregation of household and commercial waste.
More local authority farm inspections and follow-up enforcement is needed to reduce the impact of agricultural activities on water quality.
Local authorities must ensure that only approved solid fuels are available for sale, to safeguard public health from harmful air pollutants.
Local authorities need to prioritise and resource environmental functions to deliver the national enforcement priorities.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published its report on the environmental enforcement performance of local authorities in 2022. The report shows that the scale of environmental enforcement work carried out by local authorities is significant. Over 520 local authority staff handled almost 70,000 complaints and carried out over 197,000 environmental inspections.

The EPA assessed the performance of each local authority against each of the 20 national enforcement priorities (NEPs). These fall into four main themes:

Waste.
Water Quality.
Air and Noise.
Governance Processes.

Ten local authorities achieved the required standard in 70 per cent or more of the assessments. These were Kildare, Meath, Fingal, Monaghan, Leitrim, Donegal, Cavan, Dublin City, Carlow and Cork County. This is up from five local authorities the previous year.

Four local authorities achieved the required standard in only 30 per cent or less of their assessments. These were Waterford, Offaly, Kilkenny and Wexford.

Commenting on the findings of the report, Dr Tom Ryan, Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement said: “Local authorities have a vital statutory responsibility in the protection of our local environment and are responsible for enforcing much of our environmental protection legislation. While the scale of environmental enforcement work carried out by local authorities is significant, in many areas it is not delivering the necessary environmental outcomes such as improved water and air quality and waste segregation.”

Unfortunately, many key environmental indicators are static or trending in the wrong direction:

There was no significant improvement in water quality in 2022, and more local authority farm inspections and enforcement are needed to reduce the impact of agricultural activities on water quality.

Greater enforcement is needed by local authorities to ensure failed septic tank systems are fixed.
In the waste sector, there are challenging recycling targets that need to be met.
Localised air pollution issues continue to have a negative impact on people’s health.

Dr Ryan added: “The effective enforcement of environmental quality standards at the local level is essential. Local authority leadership is critical in delivering better environmental outcomes through the prioritisation of environmental enforcement and the appropriate allocation of resources.”

Overall 2022 Assessment Result for Co. Tipperary:
According to the report Tipperary County Council officials, and municipal district councillors, led by Chief Executive Mr Joe MacGrath, sadly met the required standard of a ‘Strong or Excellent’ result, for only 45% of the National Enforcement Priorities (NEPs) in 2022, while the national average was 59%.
Local authorities are expected to meet the required standard in 100% of the NEPs, by the end of the 2022 – 2024 three-year cycle.
Additional focus is now required in the work areas where a Limited or Moderate assessment result was achieved.

**Regular failure to empty bottle banks.**

Waste:

Poor waste segregation remains an ongoing problem with households and businesses still putting most of their waste in the wrong bin. Local authorities need to enforce the roll-out and use of 3-bin systems, to improve segregation and increase recycling of both household and commercial waste.

Mr David Pollard, Programme Manager of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement said: “The EPA’s recent waste characterisation study shows that many households and businesses are still failing to properly segregate their waste. Improving recycling rates through better segregation of wastes into the general, recycling and organics bins is essential if, as a nation, we are to turn waste into a valuable resource and reduce the amount of wastes we are sending to incineration and landfills. Local authorities have a vital role to play here by targeting their enforcement at the roll out and proper use of the 3-bin system.”

Water Quality:

**River Suir, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, close to Barry’s Bridge.**

Overall water quality is not good enough, with just over half of rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters in satisfactory condition. Agriculture continues to have a significant impact on water quality, causing excess levels of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) to enter our waterways.

While the number of local authority farm inspections increased during 2022, the number is still too low. More farm inspections and follow-up enforcement is needed to reduce the risk of agricultural activities negatively impacting on water quality and to drive compliance with the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) Regulations. The National Agricultural Inspection Programme, which commenced in 2022, sets out a risk-based approach to the targeting of inspections using the EPA’s Targeting Agricultural Measures Map. A priority for this winter (2023/2024) is that local authorities monitor that there is no spreading of soiled water, slurry or fertiliser on farmlands in the closed season or under unsuitable weather or soil conditions.

Air and Noise:

Local authorities assign a much lower level of resources to air and noise enforcement than waste and water enforcement. Whilst air quality met the standards in the Cleaner Air for Europe (CAFE) Directive in 2022 there are concerning localised issues relating to fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide that impact negatively on people’s health. Continued focus is required by local authorities to ensure that only approved solid fuels are available for sale, to reduce air pollution from the combustion of solid fuels for home heating.

Greater local authority action is needed to prevent noise pollution impacting on people’s health and wellbeing. Most local authorities struggle to implement their own Noise Action Plans developed under the Environmental Noise Regulations. Local authorities need to allocate adequate resources to deal with noise issues. In particular, they should co-ordinate actions with other bodies responsible for transport and roads and designate quiet areas in towns and cities.

The Focus on Local Authority Environmental Enforcement – Performance Report 2022 report is available on the EPA website to download HERE. (Scroll to page 28 of 32 to view Co. Tipperary report.)

Email Data No Longer Safe With Website Temu.

If you are a frequent online shopper, there is every chance that you’ve come across a site called Temu. It’s a Chinese-owned digital marketplace.
Customer who have purchased items from the Temu Ireland website, should not be surprised if they get an image shown below in their Email accounts.

First note the picture above and also retain in your memory that something which views as too good to be true, most likely is untrue; note: Temu do not send Mystery Boxes to their customers.

This is a Spam Text Message and Phishing at its very best, attempting to seeking personal detail and on no account should you click on the links requested on every line of the notification.

In yet another picture, shown immediately above, you will be asked to unsubscribe. Should you attempt to do so you will again be asked for personal details, so refrain from doing so.

Today, we contacted Temu [help@support.temu.com], re. the hacking of email data on their website and received the following reply in the form of a rather ‘limp apology’.

A portion of their reply message read: [Temu Ticket 1699871874096499]
“Thank you for contacting the Temu Customer Service Team.
We care deeply about privacy and data protection. We strictly abide to our Privacy and Cookies Policy. We believe in transparency and are committed to keeping your information safe.
From the picture information you provided. After verification, this is indeed not an official website and our team is currently taking necessary measures to resolve the issue.
We have already filed a complaint to the Message publishing platform.”

But of course they have failed to kept personal email data/information safe, as proven by the images shown above. They now join the ranks of Adobe, Dropbox, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, to name but a few, who in the past have each allowed Email addresses, Employers, Geographic locations, Job titles, Names, and Social media profile data to be compromised.