Three sushi restaurants in Dublin have been shut down as the Food Safety Authority says they were operating from a bedroom.
Koi Sushi, Nagoya Sushi and Kyoto Sushi - all located in Santry - have been issued with closure orders.
The FSAI says it's due to unregistered online sushi takeaways operating from a bedroom of a house, where there were breaches of food legislation, food safety controls and record keeping.
Dr Bernard Hegarty from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland said the business was "off the radar".
"It wasn't registered with the health service executive which such businesses need to be legally."
"This was an under-the-radar business and operating online."
"They were selling to customers who thought they were getting food from a legitimate food business."
For the most part, Dr Hegarty said sushi in particular is a high-risk product.
"It contains raw fish which must be kept chilled to reduce the growth of dangerous bacteria."
"It also contains rice that's a risky ready-to-eat food as that must also be kept chilled."
He said those businesses put customers at risk and in danger.
Five Closure Orders served on food businesses in October.
For more, see: https://t.co/tH1Hi34eo8. #FoodSafety pic.twitter.com/frrztNgAwi
— FoodSafetyAuthority (@FSAIinfo) November 9, 2020
Rodent Problem Evident In Cork And Dublin Restaurants
Elsewhere, five closure orders were served last month on restaurants in Dublin and Cork for rodent issues.
Issues include a rat seen in the premises, rodent activity in food preparation areas, and rat droppings posing a serious risk to consumers.
The authority says TFS Wholesale in Bantry was closed after a live rat was seen in the premises along with rodent droppings.
Meanwhile, Speedos in Cork City received a closure order due to the presence of rat droppings, and rodent activity.
Dr Bernard Hegarty said inspectors are finding an increase in rodent activity.
"We shouldn't be having those kind of problems."
Dr Hegarty said its surprising that some businesses need to be reminded that keeping pests away is a legal requirement.
"Really you shouldn't be running a restaurant with pest problems at that scale," he concluded.
