KFC product samples tested by Telangana Govt

The Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM) of Telangana government is testing the samples of food giant KFC's products following allegations that they contain harmful bacteria.

"I asked inspectors to pick up samples. 14 samples have been taken. Report will come by Wednesday. The sample (sent by the NGO which levelled allegations) would be informal sample. When we collect a sample, it is (treated as) a statutory sample," IPM director K Amarender Reddy said. The samples were being tested in public interest as per the guiding principles of Food Safety Standards Authority of India, he said.

Two days ago, NGO Balala Hakkula Sangham (Andhra Pradesh Child Rights Association) had claimed that the lab tests commissioned by it revealed that KFC products had harmful bacteria like E Coli and Salmonella.

KFC had said in its statement yesterday that it was a false allegation, and an attempt to malign its "brand reputation". "There is no possibility of any microbial development in our food which is freshly cooked at 170 degrees Celsius," it said. When contacted, KFC said that they are aware of the inspection conducted by the local authorities at their store and will continue to cooperate with the authorities.

"As a responsible brand, KFC adheres to all national and state level norms introduced by the government and local authorities. We are committed to following the best international standards and serving the highest quality products to all our customers across all our restaurants," KFC said in a statement. "The authorities regularly take samples from all restaurants across the industry as part of standard practise and we always cooperate with the same," it added.