Shannon Heritage is stressing that the closure of one of it’s businesses in no way affects it’s ability to serve customers at one of Clare’s top tourist attractions.
It’s after a closure order was served on a bakery at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, last month.
The business has since re-opened, but details of the closure have today been published by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.
The Bakery at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park was ordered to close on July 13th, after issues were uncovered during a routine inspection by environmental health officers in the Health Service Executive.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has now published details of what was uncovered on that date, namely evidence of an active mouse infestation, which the inspector said was serious enough to pose a risk of contamination of food stuffs.
A significant number of mouse droppings were observed on shelving, baking equipment, adjacent to and behind free standing equipment and points of possible ingress were noted.
In a statement to Clare FM, Shannon Heritage says it took immediate action to ensure the business was compliant with regulations, with the business re-opening five days later.
It says it has a long track record of food quality, and holds itself to the highest standards in compliance with regulations.
Shannon Heritage also says it’s anxious to stress that the closure order didn’t affect it’s ability to serve its customers at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park or at any other food outlets.
The business is the only Clare food outlet listed among 13 nationally which were sanctioned last month.
Statement from Shannon Heritage
“On Friday, 13th July, there was a routine inspection carried out by the EHO to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park as is normal practise. While all our food outlets fully passed inspection, there was an isolated area of one of the bakeries that was served with a closure notice due to a concern by the EHO. We of course took this matter very seriously and immediate action was taken to remedy this, with a quick turnaround resulting in the bakery reopening just 5 days later. Shannon Heritage has a long track record of food quality and we hold ourselves to the highest of standards in compliance with all regulatory requirements. We are anxious to stress that this in no way affected our ability to serve our customers at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park or any other food outlets”.
