KFC outlet in Kerala shut down on worm complaint; could impact sales

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inShar

An outlet of Kentucky Fried Chicken has been shut down by the Kerala food safety authority after worms were found in a chicken dish.

NEW DELHI: An outlet of Kentucky Fried Chicken in Thiruvananthapuram has been shut down by the Kerala food safety authority after worms were found in a chicken dish even as the American restaurant chain swung to damage control mode.

KFC, owned by Yum Brands, had to down shutters after food safety officials searched the outlet acting on a customer compliant that worms were found in a KFC 'fiery chicken' dish. The authority ordered a temporary closure of the store.

A KFC India spokesman, however, denied the presence of the worm. "All KFC chicken is sourced from the state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, which comply to stringent food safety standards," he said.

If the row escalates, it could impact KFC's sales at least in the short term in the country.

"If proven, it could be in trouble," Prathish Nair, head of consulting firm Transcend Brand Consulting, said, adding that such a thing, however, would have gone unnoticed in an unorganised restaurant.

"In markets like the US, if such a thing happens, the brands risk getting sued for millions of dollars," he said.

This April, KFC was ordered to pay $8.3 million (about Rs 44 crore) to the family of an Australian girl left severely brain damaged after being poisoned by a chicken meal at a restaurant near Sydney in 2005.

In 2003, a few instances of worm-infested Cadbury chocolates led to its sales plunging. In 2003 and again in 2006, sales of cola firms PepsiCo and Coca-Cola plunged to half, following allegations of pesticide residue in their beverages by NGO Centre for Science & Environment.

KFC, which almost quit India due to protests from health and animal rights activists after its debut in 1995, has been riding on the country's increasing appetite for chicken. Yum! India plans to have 500 KFC outlets by 2015, up from about 160 currently.