'Covered with flies' - Limerick takeaway ordered to close amid health concerns

A TAKEAWAY premises in County Limerick was ordered to close last month following an inspection from the HSE which found it to be in breach of food safety legislation and regulations.

According to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Mars Pizza, which is located at Coolbeg, Kildimo, was ordered to close with immediate effect following the inspection on March 12, 2026.

The particular reasons for the Closure Order included:

1. Cleaning & Sanitation

The inspector noted;

• The premises and equipment were not clean nor maintained in good condition and may pose a risk in
  contamination.
• The bin had an accumulation of waste it was not clean and black discoloration was noted.
• Black dirt was noted under shelving, wall/floor junctions and behind equipment
• The staff toilet was kept in an unhygienic manner. Visible dirt was noted on the walls, floor, door, wash hand
  basin and toilet bowl in particular.
• The yellow mop bucket, mop and floor brushes intended for cleaning were stained and dirty. There was no
  adequate storage space for them, with the mop and brushes left on the ground.
• Cleaning materials were stored in dirty stagnate water and black dirty stained towels were observed in the
  premises.

Failure to maintain the premises in a hygienic condition, may pose a risk of contamination of food, equipment, utensils and food preparation surfaces.

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2. Services - Drainage

Evidence of non-compliance included;

• The wash hand basin was unable to drain adequately in the food preparation area.

Wash hand basin that are unable to drain may pose a risk as stagnant water can create an environment for harmful bacteria and pathogens to grow.

3. Prevention of contamination & personal hygiene

Evidence of non-compliance included;

• Cooked battered fish was placed into a dirty stained box formally used for raw foods.
• Open food was stored in an unsuitable manner beside stained yellow mop bucket, mop and floor brushes.
• Staff were observed not wearing suitable protective clothing

Failure to prevent contamination by equipment and food workers likely to pose a risk to food safety and public health.

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4. Food storage

Evidence of non-compliance included;

• There was poor segregation of raw and cooked foods in the freezers as evidenced by bread baps stored
  adjacent to a opened bag of raw burgers.
• Fruit and vegetables were being stored in an unsuitable manner with dirty containers, tools and personal
  clothing items adjacent.
• Prepared foods were stored without labelling to confirm durability. An unlabeled container of cooked mince
  was stored in the double door fridge that had a strong malodour.
• A container of thawing burgers in the single fridge was not date labelled nor sealed and stored directly above
  open ready to eat sauces.
• Bags of cooked food in the freezers were unlabeled
• Foods were found on the premise past their best before date and not refrigerated as per manufactures
  instructions.
• White plastic shopping bags were used for storing foods in the fridge. These are not food grade materials.

Food exposed to potential chemical and microbiological contamination and inadequate control of food durability may pose a risk to food safety and public health.

5. HACCP-Based Procedure

Evidence of non-compliance included;

• There was no evidence to demonstrate the critical control points were being monitored for compliance with
  food safety limits.
• The verification procedure was not carried out effectively.
• There was no safe food temperature monitoring carried out for cooking, hot holding, nor cooling.
• Fridge/ freezer records were only available up to the 12th February 2026
• Date of freezing was not available for the battered fish pieces in the freezer.

Failure to maintain the food safety management system, the lack of monitoring and control of risks associated with the production and supply of food can result in a failure to identify when food is not meeting a critical limit for food safety, this may pose a risk to public health.

6. Pest Control Procedures

Evidence of non-compliance included;

• The grille of the electrical insect control unit was covered with flies.
• There was no evidence to indicate when bulbs in electrical insect control unit were last changed.
• There was a visible gap at the base of the front door to the premises and to the external toilet door that is
  liable to allow pests access.

Failure to implement an effective system of pest control and to restrict unwanted pests from the premises may result in contamination of foodstuffs which may make the foods unfit for human consumption.

7. Temperature Control

Evidence of non-compliance included;

• A container of curry sauce on the counter it was at a temperature of 15.9 degrees Celsius and the food
  business operator advised that it was not placed in chilled storage at any stage from production and did not
  know long the food was kept in service. There were no records for hot holding on the premises.

Poor storage practices are a risk to public health as food poisoning bacteria can grow and may render the food unfit for human consumption.

8. Traceability

Evidence of non-compliance included;

• The food business operator did not have effective traceability systems in place. Food in the chest freezer and
  the two fridges were not labeled or identified to facilitate its traceability. The business failed to demonstrate
  effective traceability at the time of inspection.

The lack of traceability on food products poses a risk to food safety and could arise in potential contamination due to poor stock rotation or being unable identify date of minimum durability of foodstuffs.

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8. Food Safety Culture

Evidence of non-compliance:

• Persistent and historical failure to comply with food law as evidenced by
• Improvement Notice served on 15/11/2024
• Improvement Notice served on 09/02/2023
• Food Business Operator has not effectively addressed non compliances to prevent reoccurrences.

Failure to implement, and maintain an appropriate food safety culture in food premises may or is likely to pose a risk to food safety, and thereby to public health.

According to the FSAI, the closure order was issued on March 12, 2026, and was lifted the following day - March 13, 2026.