Tim O’Brien of The Irish Times reports a Starbucks outlet was among 10 food businesses to receive temporary closure orders during September from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.

The agency ordered the outlet at 21 Great Georges Street in Waterford to close its doors on September 27th. It remained shut for more than a week, reopening on October 5th.

The FSAI declines to give details of why closure orders are served on any outlet, but its chief executive, Dr Pamela Byrne, said they are only issued for serious risks or regular breaches of hygiene regulations.

“Enforcement orders and most especially closure orders and prohibition orders are never served for minor food safety breaches,” she said.

“They are served on food businesses only when a serious risk to consumer health has been identified or where there are a number of ongoing breaches of food legislation and that largely tends to relate to a grave hygiene or operational issue.”

A spokeswoman for Entertainment Enterprises Group, which operates the Starbucks chain in Ireland, said the Waterford closure was a result of contaminated water flowing into the shop.

“The problem was with the main drainage pipes,” she said.

“There was a rupture of the main pipe in the middle of the road outside our store. Water then seeped under the road and pavement into our basement.

“The pipes were repaired and the store is restored to its proper condition. The store reopened yesterday afternoon.”