SOUTH AFRICA – KFC MD Doug Smart on Monday tried to calm customers following a hygiene scandal at the Braamfontein outlet last week.
He said staff at the outlet had tried to hide a mistake they had made, but that did not mean they should get into trouble.
The outlet was closed temporarily after images showing staff using a hose to clean chicken that was on the floor went viral on social media last Thursday.
In one image the uncooked poultry pieces were contained in buckets with blood and water streaming onto the ground.
On Monday‚ Mr Smart said the chicken on the floor was due to be discarded and was not being cleaned with a view to cooking it.
Mr Smart said franchisee Simon Malebane had introduced strict controls that ensured staff thoroughly cleaned chicken before it was breaded with flour.
This was done to prevent losses caused by throwing away chicken that had already been breaded — any defects, including broken bones, meant the chicken had to be discarded.
Mr Smart said the staff had not inspected the chicken properly before it was breaded. When they realised it had defects‚ they decided to clean it to hide their mistake.
“We are 100% certain that this chicken was discard chicken. What we could not understand is why they were washing it. It made no sense. They could have washed it on the sink. We do not know why they chose to wash it on the floor. This is a very unusual case. We have never seen something like this‚” said Mr Smart.
“What we have done with Simon is to ask him to adjust his policy. No team member must get into trouble for moving a product that should be removed at any stage.”
May 13, 2015; http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/retail/2015/05/11/kfc-explains-why-the-chicken-was-on-the-floor
