KFC's £10,000 court bill
A KFC restaurant in Dudley has been fined after serving undercooked chicken to a two-year-old boy.
The branch at the Merry Hill shopping centre was hit with a £10,000 court bill after Andonis Partali's parents said that pieces of popcorn chicken that they bought at KFC were so raw that they were "like jelly".
At Dudley Magistrates Court KFC admitted selling food not of the quality demanded and apologised.
Loucas and Sarah Partali, parents of Andonis, complained to Dudley Council environmental health department after visiting the drive-through restaurant in April 2005.
Afterwards Mr Partali, who runs two fish and chip shops in Wollaston, said his wife felt a "squishy" piece of chicken after feeding one piece to their son.
Mr Partali, 32, added: "We pulled over and turned the car light on and looked at the chicken and it was all jellified inside, it was completely raw. We were shocked and angry with KFC. Normally we gave him the box to eat but it was hot on the outside - if he had sat in the back of the car eating them it could have been serious."
KFC was fined £7,000 with £3,000 court costs.
In court the firm said it took all such complaints very seriously and the incident was out of keeping with consistently high standards.
KFC released a statement after the hearing saying: "We wish to assure our customers that this is an isolated incident.
"KFC has procedures in place to ensure that all products are properly cooked and this incident could not have taken place if these procedures were followed correctly. As such, since the incident in April 2005, we have retrained all employees at the restaurant and have not experienced a similar incident since."
Dudley Council cabinet member for the environment Councillor Karen Shakespeare said the council would not hesitate to take legal action against food businesses if food is not safe and properly cooked.
By John Brenan
