A dead rat, mouldy food and cows’ feet are among the health threats which have seen dozens of restaurants and other food businesses falling foul of health inspections this year.

Former celebrity haunt Town Bar & Grill was served with a closure order in February, after an environmental health officer found a dead rat and rodent droppings at the Kildare Street premises. Management at the glamorous restaurant – which once played host to the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Gerry Ryan and Martin Sheen – were ordered to put a proper pest-control system in place.

The order was lifted a day later, after the problem had been sorted out, but the restaurant was sold and relaunched weeks later under a different name and with new management.

But Town Bar & Grill was far from alone in being found to have serious hygiene issues. The Irish Independent has learned the disconcerting details behind many of the 47 closures of restaurants, shops and manufacturers countrywide in 2014.

Closure orders are the strongest weapon health inspectors have to tackle food safety threats. These are issued to all or part of a premises when a “grave and immediate danger to public health” is deemed likely.

The number of businesses being slapped with these enforcement orders has spiralled in the last five years, with 119 premises receiving closure orders in 2013, compared to 34 in 2009.

As the high level of closure orders continues this summer, with seven in July alone, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has repeated its warning to businesses that the legal onus is on them to make sure the food they serve and sell is safe to eat. FSAI chief executive Prof Alan Reilly said each closure order undermined consumer confidence in the industry.