FSAI Closure Orders September 2026: 12 Food Businesses Closed and What Every Kitchen Can Learn

By Jason Kearns, Guardian Safety | Last updated: 26 October 2026

Twelve food businesses across Ireland were served Closure Orders in September 2026, according to figures published by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) on 15 October 2026. That's a sharp rise on August, when three Closure Orders were served, and on a par with July's eleven.

The reasons will be familiar to anyone who has read these monthly reports before: cockroach infestations, dead rodents near food, no hand-washing facilities, no HACCP-based food safety management system, and staff who had not been properly trained or supervised. As the FSAI's Chief Executive, Greg Dempsey, put it, these are "entirely preventable non-compliances when proper food safety management systems are in place."

In this article we break down the September figures, explain in plain English what each failure means, show you how to make sure it never happens in your business, and answer the questions we're asked most often about closure orders and food safety training in Ireland.

In this article: - September 2026 at a glance - Where and what types of business? - Why were they closed? The 8 issues explained - What is a Closure Order, legally? - Is food safety training a legal requirement? - FAQs - How Guardian Safety can help

September 2026 at a glance

To put September in context, the FSAI's running totals (report refreshed 16 October 2026) show 71 Closure Orders served so far in 2026, compared with 103 for the whole of 2025 and 115 in 2024. So 2026 is on a similar track to recent years, which tells us the same basic failures keep appearing.

Where were the closures? County and business-type breakdown

By county

By business type

Source: FSAI press release, 15 October 2026 and the FSAI enforcement reports. Several of the orders have since been lifted once the problems were fixed. The FSAI keeps Closure Orders listed for three months after a premises is judged to have corrected its food safety issue.

The spread of business types stands out. Restaurants and cafés made up half the list, but there were also takeaways, a food retailer, service-sector caterers and a B&B, in seven counties from Dublin to Kerry. If you serve or sell food, from a small café to a hotel kitchen or a convenience store deli counter, the same rules apply to you.

Why were they closed? The 8 issues behind September's Closure Orders

The FSAI lists the reasons across the month as a whole, without attributing each one to a specific business. Here's every issue cited, what it means in practice, and how to prevent it.

1. Pest activity: cockroaches and rodents

This was the headline issue again. Inspectors found: - an active cockroach infestation at all stages of the life cycle; - dead cockroaches on traps beneath a ready-to-eat food service area and in the pot-wash and dish-wash areas; - a dead rodent directly in front of a fridge containing beverages; - two dead mice at different stages of decomposition behind shelving in a food storage room, with rodent droppings on shelving and preparation surfaces where utensils and drinks were stored.

Why it leads to closure: Cockroaches and rodents carry bacteria such as Salmonella and contaminate food, surfaces and equipment. An infestation at "all stages of the life cycle" means it is established, not a one-off sighting, and that is the kind of grave and immediate risk that justifies a closure.

How to prevent it: - Have a pest control contract with a competent provider and keep the visit reports on site. - Train staff to recognise early signs: droppings, gnaw marks, smear marks, egg cases, a musty smell. - Proof the building. Seal gaps around pipes, fit bristle strips to doors, and keep external doors closed. - Pull out equipment and shelving when you clean. Pests thrive in the places nobody looks. - Record and act on every sighting immediately. Don't wait for the next contractor visit.

2. No adequate hand-washing facilities

Why it matters: Hands are one of the main routes for spreading bacteria and viruses onto food. EU Regulation 852/2004 (Annex II, Chapter I) requires an adequate number of washbasins, suitably located and designated for cleaning hands, with hot and cold running water and materials for cleaning and hygienic drying of hands. Where necessary, facilities for washing food must be separate from the hand-washing facilities.

How to prevent it: Make sure a dedicated wash-hand basin is accessible, stocked and working at all times: hot water, soap, paper towels and nothing stacked in it. Teach staff when to wash hands, not just how: after handling raw food, after breaks, after using the toilet, after handling bins and before handling ready-to-eat food.

3. No food safety management system based on HACCP

Why it matters: Under Article 5 of EU Regulation 852/2004, food business operators (other than at primary production level) must "put in place, implement and maintain a permanent procedure or procedures based on the HACCP principles" (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point). The paperwork can be scaled to the size of the business. The law only asks for documents and records "commensurate with the nature and size of the food business", but the system has to exist and be used. Without one, a business can't show that it knows where its risks are or how it controls them. Not having one appeared in both the August and September FSAI reports.

How to prevent it: Your system doesn't have to be complicated. Many small caterers use the FSAI's Safe Catering Pack, which was updated in July 2026 with new sections on water supply, food donations and food safety culture. What matters is that someone in the business understands HACCP well enough to run it, and that the records are actually filled in every day. Our Management of Food Safety and Hygiene HACCP Level 3 course is designed for owners, managers and supervisors who are responsible for exactly that.

4. Inadequate standards of cleanliness

Why it matters: Dirt, grease and food debris feed pests, harbour bacteria and make effective cleaning of food-contact surfaces impossible. "Inadequate standards of cleanliness" appears in almost every monthly FSAI report.

How to prevent it: - Use a written cleaning schedule that says what gets cleaned, how, with which chemical, how often and by whom, and have staff sign it off. - Understand the difference between cleaning and disinfecting, and follow the chemical's contact time. - Schedule a deep clean of extraction, behind equipment and under shelving. - Have supervisors check the clean, not just the signature.

5. Failure to show use-by dates on food prepared on site

Why it matters: If you make sauces, prepped vegetables, cooked meats or desserts in-house, you must be able to show when they were made and when they must be used by. Without that, nobody can tell whether high-risk food is still safe. It also ties in with the stricter EU rules on Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods that came into effect on 1 July 2026.

How to prevent it: Use a simple day-dot or label system (product, date prepared, use-by date, initials) and train every staff member to label everything that goes into the fridge. Stock rotation (first in, first out) should be second nature.

6. Members of the public accessing the kitchen

One business allowed a member of the public to access the kitchen and use its facilities to prepare food for personal consumption.

Why it matters: Food businesses must control who enters food-handling areas. An untrained outsider brings an uncontrolled risk of contamination, cross-contamination and allergen contact, and it shows a lack of management control.

How to prevent it: Restrict kitchen access to authorised, trained staff. This matters most anywhere the kitchen sits inside a shared or multi-use building, where customers, members or volunteers might assume they can walk in. Put up a clear "staff only" policy and enforce it.

7. Unsafe cooking, cooling and reheating of high-risk foods such as chicken

Why it matters: Undercooked or poorly cooled chicken is a classic source of Campylobacter, Salmonella and Clostridium perfringens food poisoning. Bacteria can grow in the "danger zone" between 5°C and 63°C, so slow cooling and lukewarm reheating are high-risk.

How to prevent it: - Cook so that the core (the centre or thickest part) reaches 75°C instantaneously, or an equivalent such as 70°C for two minutes, as set out in the FSAI's caterer guidance. Check it with a calibrated probe thermometer and record it. - Cool quickly. Portion large batches, use shallow trays or a blast chiller, and get food into the fridge promptly. - Reheat only once, to piping hot (70°C or above at the core), and keep hot-held food above 63°C. - Write these steps into your HACCP plan as critical control points.

8. Staff not adequately supervised, instructed and/or trained in food hygiene

This one appeared in September, August and July. In July, the FSAI also cited a failure to ensure business operators and staff were trained in applying HACCP principles.

Why it matters: This is the issue behind most of the others. Pests go unnoticed, hand basins get blocked, labels are skipped and chicken is cooled on the counter because people haven't been shown what good looks like. The FSAI's own advice in its September release was clear: food businesses should be "continuously improving their food safety standards via regular training."

How to prevent it: Every food handler needs training that matches their role, from induction-level hygiene for new starters up to HACCP management for supervisors. See the myth-busting section below for exactly what the law requires.

What is a Closure Order? The legal background

Closure Orders are served by authorised officers, most often HSE Environmental Health Officers, under the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act, 1998 or the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 (S.I. No. 79 of 2020). Under section 53 of the FSAI Act, an authorised officer may serve a Closure Order where they are of the opinion that "there is or is likely to be a grave and immediate danger to public health" at the premises or part of it. They can also serve one where they cannot establish the extent of the danger because of obstruction. The order sets out the problems and directs that the premises (or the affected part) stay closed "unless and until" they have been remedied. A business can appeal to the District Court within 7 days, but an order that takes immediate effect stays in force during the appeal unless the court suspends it. The 2020 EU Official Controls Regulations give officers similar closure powers.

There are three main types of enforcement order: - Improvement Order: requires the business to fix specific issues by a deadline. - Prohibition Order: stops the sale or use of a particular product, process or batch. - Closure Order: shuts the premises, or part of it, until the problems have been remedied and the order is lifted.

The consequences go well beyond the days of lost trading. The business is named publicly on the FSAI website, closure orders stay listed for three months after the problem is fixed, and the coverage tends to turn up on local news and social media and in Google searches for the business name for a long time.

Myth-busting: is food safety training a legal requirement in Ireland?

Yes, but perhaps not in the way you think.

Under EU Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 (Annex II, Chapter XII), food business operators must ensure that: 1. food handlers are supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene matters commensurate with their work activities; and 2. those responsible for developing and maintaining the business's HACCP-based procedures have received adequate training in the application of HACCP principles.

The myth: "The law says every staff member needs a Level 2 certificate." The reality: The law doesn't specify a named certificate. It requires training appropriate to each person's role, and the business must be able to demonstrate it to an inspector. The FSAI's Guide to Food Safety Skills sets out the skills expected at three levels: Level 1 (induction skills for all food handlers), Level 2 (additional skills) and Level 3 (food safety skills for management). It also states that anyone responsible for supervising staff must have completed the Level 3 management skills.

In practice, you need to be able to prove it. The FSAI accepts that in-house training, instruction and supervision can meet the requirement even when it isn't certified, and that e-learning should be backed up by management support and follow-up. Either way, when an EHO asks, "How do you know your staff are trained?", you need a clear answer. A training record for every staff member, mapped to the FSAI skill levels, is the simplest one. September's Closure Orders show what happens when a business can't give one.

Your 10-point closure-order prevention checklist

1. ☐ Written HACCP-based food safety management system, in use daily
2. ☐ Pest control contract, reports on file, and staff trained to spot signs
3. ☐ Building proofed against pests (doors, gaps, drains)
4. ☐ Dedicated, stocked wash-hand basin with hot water
5. ☐ Signed-off cleaning schedule, including deep cleans
6. ☐ Every prepared food labelled with prep and use-by dates
7. ☐ Calibrated probe thermometer and cooking, cooling and reheating records
8. ☐ Kitchen access restricted to authorised, trained staff
9. ☐ Allergen information accurate and up to date
10. ☐ Training records for every food handler, matched to their role

Frequently asked questions

How many Closure Orders did the FSAI report for September 2026?

Twelve. Ten were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 and two under the EU (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020. All were served by HSE Environmental Health Officers.

What are the most common reasons food businesses are closed in Ireland?

Across July, August and September 2026, the reasons that kept recurring were pest infestations (cockroaches and rodents), poor cleaning, no HACCP-based food safety management system, inadequate hand-washing facilities, and staff who were not adequately supervised or trained in food hygiene.

How long does a Closure Order last?

Under section 53 of the FSAI Act, the premises must stay closed "unless and until" the problems set out in the order have been remedied, at which point the order is lifted. In September 2026, some orders were lifted within a day or a week, while others were still in place weeks later. After it's lifted, the business stays listed on the FSAI website for three months.

Is HACCP a legal requirement in Ireland?

Yes. Under Article 5 of EU Regulation 852/2004, food business operators (apart from primary producers) must put in place, implement and maintain a permanent procedure based on HACCP principles, with records scaled to the size of the business. Under Annex II, Chapter XII, the people who develop and maintain it must have adequate training in applying HACCP principles.

Do all food handlers need food safety training?

Yes. Under EU Regulation 852/2004 (Annex II, Chapter XII), every food handler must be supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene matters commensurate with their work activity. The law doesn't name a specific certificate, but you must be able to show an inspector that it has happened.

Can food safety training be done online?

Yes. The FSAI lists e-learning as one way to meet the training requirement, provided it is backed up by management support and follow-up in the workplace. Online training is especially useful for businesses with shift workers, multiple sites or high staff turnover, and each learner's certificate gives you a ready-made training record.

Does a small café, club kitchen or B&B need to follow food safety law?

Yes. If you are operating a food business, you must comply, whatever the setting. September 2026's Closure Orders covered restaurants, takeaways, a retailer, service-sector caterers and a B&B.

How Guardian Safety can help your food business

Every issue in September's Closure Orders comes down to people knowing what to do and doing it every day. That's where we come in. At Guardian Safety we've helped Irish businesses meet their training obligations for years, and our online academy lets your team train at their own pace, on any device, with a certificate at the end.

Food safety and HACCP courses (designed in line with FSAI guidelines, CPD accredited): - HACCP Food Safety Level 1: essential induction-level hygiene for every new food handler, including kitchen porters, front-of-house and deli staff. - HACCP Food Safety Level 2: for staff preparing and handling food in food service, retail and manufacturing. Includes a free Level 1 refresher. - Food Safety HACCP Levels 1 & 2 combined: the most efficient option for new team members. Also available as a Level 1 and 2 Food Safety Bundle and in Polish. - Management of Food Safety and Hygiene HACCP Level 3: for owners, head chefs, managers and supervisors who are responsible for the HACCP system and for supervising staff, which covers the "absence of HACCP" and "inadequate supervision" failures above. - Food Allergen Awareness Training: the 14 EU allergens and labelling requirements. See also our guide to the 14 food allergens and how to avoid them.

Kitchen health and safety: - Health and Safety in Commercial Kitchens - Knife Safety Training - Fire Safety Training: kitchens are among the highest-risk areas for fire in any premises.

Browse the full range on our Food Safety Courses page.

Training a whole team? We can set up group enrolments so that every staff member's certificate is in one place, ready for your next EHO inspection. Contact us and we'll put together a package for your business.

Don't wait for an inspection to find the gaps. Train your team today.

Sources: FSAI, "Twelve Closure Orders served on food businesses in September" (15 Oct 2026); FSAI, "Seven Enforcement Orders served on food businesses in August" (10 Sep 2026); FSAI, "Thirteen Enforcement Orders served on food businesses in July" (11 Aug 2026); FSAI Enforcement Reports; FSAI Act 1998, s.53; Regulation (EC) No 852/2004; FSAI Guide to Food Safety Skills; FSAI Temperature Control guidance for caterers. This article is general guidance and isn't legal advice.