Why food businesses get closure orders in Ireland, and what a café can do to avoid one

The FSAI says it and food inspectors can close a food business down, or stop it handling, preparing or selling a food, if the premises is not hygienic, is not complying with food law, or is a risk to public health. Businesses served with a Closure, Improvement or Prohibition Order are listed on the FSAI website. For June 2026 the FSAI reported 13 Closure Orders and one Prohibition Order, and among its reasons were not notifying the competent authority, pests, no proper hand washing and food at the wrong temperature. A café can act on the FSAI's own list: notify before trading, keep an effective food safety management system, keep proper hygiene practices, control pests and train staff.

What is a closure order?

It is one of the enforcement orders the FSAI lists. The FSAI says it and food inspectors have powers under food law to close a food business down or stop it handling, preparing or selling a food if the premises is not hygienic, if the business is not complying with food law, or if there is a risk to public health. It says the powers exist to protect consumer health.

In its June 2026 report, the FSAI shows "Closed activities" against some entries. I do not read more into that than the list says.

What is the difference between closure, improvement and prohibition orders?

The pages I read do not say. It describes the powers together (close a food business down, or stop it handling, preparing or selling a food) and then lists three order types: Closure Orders, Improvement Orders and Prohibition Orders. They do not say which power belongs to which order, so I will not define them one by one. The FSAI says a business served with any of the three is listed on its website.

The FSAI's June 2026 report shows the orders were served under two laws: the FSAI Act 1998 and the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations 2020.

Why do food businesses get closure orders?

The FSAI's report for June 2026 lists these among the reasons for that month's orders:

• failure to notify the competent authority of the establishment of a food business;
• pest infestation in food preparation areas, and rodent activity including droppings on shelving, packaging and food contact equipment;
• no suitable hand washing facilities;
• food not protected from the risk of contamination;
• no basic cleaning, including chopping boards black with mould and equipment covered in heavy grease and food debris;
• an unsuitable layout and design that prevented hygienic food preparation;
• food stored at incorrect temperatures;
• no effective food traceability system;
• a food worker in a heavily stained uniform covered in old food debris.

The FSAI's chief executive, Greg Dempsey, called it "unacceptable" that enforcement action is still needed because of "basic and repeated breaches" of food safety standards.

How many closure orders are served?

For June 2026, the FSAI says Environmental Health Officers in the HSE and officers of the FSAI served 13 Closure Orders and one Prohibition Order on food businesses. It published that on 14 July 2026. I am giving that one month only, because it is the one the sources I read cover. I have not added up a year, and one month does not show a trend.

Are closure orders made public, and for how long?

Yes. The FSAI says businesses served with a Closure, Improvement or Prohibition Order are listed on its website, and so are businesses that have been prosecuted. Per its June 2026 report, Closure Orders and Improvement Orders stay in the enforcement reports for three months from the date the premises is judged to have corrected its food safety issue. Prohibition Orders are listed for one month.

How does a café avoid one?

By doing the things the FSAI's reasons point to. This list is my reading of the FSAI's reasons and its chief executive's statement, with the HSE's notification rule.

• Notify before you trade. The HSE says: "By law, you must notify the HSE before you start operating a food business." It says most food businesses register with the HSE, and some may need to register with the Department of Agriculture or the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority. Mr Dempsey says food law requires every food business to be notified to the competent authority, whatever its size or type, and that the FSAI found unregistered businesses operating without doing so. What a café must notify and licence before opening is its own article.
• Have an effective food safety management system. The FSAI names it as a fundamental legal obligation.
• Keep proper hygiene practices. In the reasons list that means working hand washing facilities, food protected from contamination, cleaning that actually happens, food kept at the right temperature, and clean uniforms.
• Control pests. Pests and rodent signs in food areas are on the FSAI's list.
• Train staff. The FSAI names staff training as a fundamental legal obligation too.
• Keep traceability. A lack of an effective traceability system was one of the June reasons.

Allergens are covered in another article.

What is FSAI Ireland?

FSAI is the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. In the pages I read it is the body that, with food inspectors, can serve closure, improvement and prohibition orders, and that publishes the list of businesses served. HSE Environmental Health Officers serve orders as well, as the June 2026 report shows. The sources do not describe the FSAI's wider role, so I leave it there.

Sources

• Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Enforcement Orders and Closure Orders, read 6 October 2026.
• HSE, Notify the HSE about starting a food business, read 6 October 2026.
• Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Fourteen Enforcement Orders served on food businesses in June, 14 July 2026, read 6 October 2026.

This is a summary of public guidance, not legal advice. The FSAI and your local Environmental Health Officer have the final word. I name no business from the FSAI list. Cupán Studio builds websites for Dublin cafés.