Says allegations have inconsistencies; no outlet in three out of the five locations, the supplier mentioned is not even in the poultry business.

KFC India is combatting its own allegations of food poisoning, with a social welfare organization in Hyderabad claiming the presence of E.Coli and Salmonella in its fried chicken.

In a press conference in Hyderabad last Friday, the Bala Hakkula Sangham (Andhra Pradesh Child Rights Association) made its claim using the results of the tests conducted by the state food laboratory as its proof.

In its response, KFC India claimed the accusations were false and made with malicious intent. Its written statement said: “We believe that this is a case of malicious intent on the part some individuals trying to damage our brand reputation.

We have no knowledge of the sample being collected from any of our stores and have not received any intimation or notice from any authority in this regard.

We have got to know of this report from the media, and there are a lot of inconsistencies in what has been reported. The supplier name mentioned in the report is not even in the poultry business. Also the news claims that samples were collected from five KFC stores and in reality there is no KFC outlet in three out of the five locations shared with the media by the NGO. We are not sure if this alleged sample was actually picked from a KFC store, what is the condition in which this was stored or transported. The products we sell are freshly cooked and is a perishable food item meant for immediate consumption.

In any case, there is no possibility of any microbial development in our food which is freshly cooked at 170° Celsius.”

See related news reports: Reuters, Restaurant India