An Indian KFC unit belonging to the international KFC fast food chain was accused of selling food contaminated with E. coli and Salmonella.
KFC stated that this accusation is just an attempt to slander their reputation.
Balala Hakkula Sangham is an Indian NGO aimed at protecting children’s rights and preventing abuses such as corporal punishment and forced labor. The organization claims that it sent samples to state laboratories for analysis. The samples came back as positive for bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella.
The child protection group claimed that the samples were sent to the Telengana government laboratory and that they expect punitive measures to be taken against the fast food chain
However, KFC has a long history of being falsely accused of serving contaminated food. In 2015 there have been several cases of hoaxes or ill intended false accusations.
The Company was accused of selling a fried rat as fried chicken but the customer that made the claim refused to present the product in question for analysis. When the company tried to contact the alleged customer he refused to meet the KFC representatives alone or accompanied by a lawyer.
KFC has also been accused of using genetically engineered 4 legged chickens to increase the production of servable fired wings. In a related scandal several rumors have been greatly exaggerated for at least 10 years. Commentators stated that KFC had to shorten its name because the meat it was using could no longer be described as “chicken meat”.
These events do not refute the last salmonella scandal however. The company has been known to lose court cases in the past and might have to pay huge amounts of money as reparations like in the case of Monika Samaan from Sydney, Australia who was left brain-damaged after eating a salmonella infected twister.
In regards to the Indian unit scandal, KFC said it was not notified in any way of sample collections from their restaurants and that the conditions in which the samples were taken and transported have also not been made public.
The fast food chain also declared that since it is cooked at 170 degrees the food could not possibly be contaminated. KFC also announced it will pursue this case and request all available data from the local authorities.
Both the manner in which test samples are collected and the way they are stored play a crucial role in the accuracy of the result. Without careful and hygienic handling during sampling the test results can be easily corrupted.
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