THE owner of a cafe ordered to close after a dead mouse was found in a trap says it is the first time in 17 years there has been any issue with environmental health.
An enforcement notice was served on The Waterfront Diner in St Johnston on November 2.
The owner was told to shut by the Environmental Health Agency after customers reported seeing a mouse on the restaurant floor.
During their visit an inspector found that adequate procedures were not in place to deal with pests gaining entry to the premises.
A dead mouse was found in a trap underneath shelving used for storing food and equipment at the rear of the kitchen. Fresh mouse droppings were discovered in the same area.
According to a report published by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, the conditions led to a “serious risk of food being contaminated with pathogenic bacteria likely to render the food unfit for human consumption, injurious to health or contaminated in such a way that would be unreasonable to expect the food to be consumed in this state”.
The enforcement notice was lifted two days later when inspectors were satisfied that the necessary steps to prevent a repeat of the incident had been taken.
The owner of The Waterfront, Irene Coll, said she wanted to clarify a number of issues, including the fact that it was the first time in almost two decades that her premises had fallen foul of environmental regulations.
Ms Coll said, “On Friday October 28 during a very busy lunchtime rush a member of staff along with quite a few customers saw a mouse on the restaurant floor.
“That member of staff reported to myself immediately and pest control was contacted. Unknown to myself a customer or member of the public made a complaint to the Environmental Health Agency. That evening a deep clean was carried out of the premises.
“On Wednesday November 2, again at lunchtime, the environmental health officer entered the premises and informed staff that a complaint of a mouse being seen on the premises had been made and that he had to investigate.
“During the investigation mouse droppings were found. With the now dead mouse in an area deemed as ‘dried goods store’, the premises had to be closed until pest control dealt with the issue and the entry point could be identified.
“The closure order was received by myself at 5.45pm on Wednesday evening. On Thursday a deep clean was again done and at 9am on Friday the order was lifted and full business was able to resume.”
Ms Coll said there was no attempt to hide the situation from customers.
She said the vermin problem was found to be emanating from an adjacent unoccupied building and that at no point were pest droppings found near or in food.
Inviting anyone who so desired to view documents relating to the diner’s closure, the cafe owner added she continues to operate on a seven days per week basis.
“I am a small business owner in a local community for nearly 17 years and have never had an issue with environmental health.
“Anything that needed addressing after any routine visit was dealt with as a matter of importance,” said Ms Coll.
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