- KFC clarifies serving fresh, high-quality chicken from reputable suppliers.
- Inspection at the Mangaluru outlet followed the customer's stale chicken complaint.
- Officials collected chicken samples for lab testing; further action awaited.
Global fast food restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) on Monday clarified that they serve “fresh, high-quality" chicken from reputed suppliers from across the country, complying with the FSSAI guidelines. This comes a day after food safety officials conducted a surprise inspection at one of its outlets in Mangaluru, following a customer’s complaint that stale chicken is being served at the eatery.
On this, the KFC issued an official statement saying that the circulated information is not true and that they serve high-quality food to their customers. The multinational food restaurant said, "As a responsible brand, KFC is firmly committed to providing high levels of food safety, quality and hygiene. The information circulating doesn’t depict the true facts. We source high-quality chicken from reputed suppliers across the country and actively comply with FSSAI guidelines, along with certain global quality standards, to serve quality food to our customers. The chicken we serve and store is as per norms and is prepared in-store every day, and each piece undergoes multiple stringent quality and safety checks from the suppliers’ farm to the consumers’ plate.”
The food outlet said that they’re cooperating with the concerned authorities and are reviewing the matter in accordance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements. “Any customer who wishes to know more about KFC’s strict kitchen procedures and safety protocols can contact the restaurant manager for a kitchen tour,” KFC added.
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What Did The Complainant Say?
The complaint was lodged after a customer who ordered Chicken Peri Peri Legs online from the outlet allegedly found the food to be stale and foul-smelling.
Following this, officials from the Food Safety Department conducted a raid at the outlet and inspected the kitchen, store room, cold storage facilities, deep freezer and fried chicken stock. During the inspection, authorities sealed the godown and collected chicken samples for laboratory testing. Officials said further action will be taken based on the findings of the laboratory report.
Safety Checks In Karnataka
The raid at the Mangaluru outlet comes amid a series of inspections by the Food Safety Department across Karnataka.
In Mysuru city and district, food safety officials seized 9 kg of expired chicken from Rio Meridian Hotel, 68 kg of meat from Grand Mercure Hotel and 4 kg of mushrooms from Q Star Hotel. Authorities said further investigation is underway.
Additionally, the Health Department conducted inspection drives at resorts in Mysuru and Nanjangud taluks. A total of three resorts were inspected, and three notices were issued. Officials also collected five food samples, including two legal samples and three survey samples. During the drive, 16 kg of expired and perishable food items were seized and discarded.