KFC fined £22,000 for chicken not fully cooked

Fast food giant KFC has been ordered to pay almost £22,000 for selling undercooked chicken at one of its Wolverhampton restaurants, following a court case.

A boy aged two spat out a piece of undercooked Popcorn Chicken bought at Bentley Bridge drive-through, city magistrates were told.

His mother complained to Wolverhampton environmental health chiefs two days later. The offence in February last year came just five months after a similar incident involving the same KFC product , Wolverhampton magistrates heard.

Then the company, which buys its meat from Thailand, was fined £7,000 by Dudley magistrates. There had also been other offences, including at an outlet in West Bromwich, involving the sale of raw Crispy Strips, the court was told.

KFC yesterday admitted selling food not of the quality demanded by the purchaser. David Whiting, for the firm, blamed the problem on "human error".

Richard Dewsbury, for Wolverhampton City Council, said Popcorn Chicken, the company's second biggest selling line, arrived at restaurants raw after being flash fried for just a few seconds and then frozen.

KFC spokeswoman Carys Lewis said: "We would like to assure our customers this was an isolated incident."