Posts Tagged ‘ KFC ’

KFC: Hoax Or We Do Chicken Raw? Nasty Pic Looks Like Salmonella To Go

September 18th, 2012. By AbiK

It’s bad enough when mango or cantaloupe recalls are on just about every salmonella email alert. But this photo of a KFC chicken sandwich allegedly served up raw in Ontario is quite another thing, and it’s pretty nasty.

Now, we do not have confirmation that this did, indeed, happen—the image originally posted on Reddit user boneriffic12‘s page a few days ago. And it’s making the internet rounds having been picked up by HuffPo and Q13 Fox out of Seattle. The pic was posted with this message:

“Fried Chicken #FAIL. My friend ordered a chicken burger from KFC & it came back raw. Yes he ate that bite that’s missing.”

So hoax or horror, you be the judge for now.

What it does bring to mind, however, is the recent case of the little Australian girl who had allegedly suffered brain damage as a result of salmonella poisoning stemming from a KFC chicken wrap sandwich she had eaten. The girl, Monika Samaan was just 7 years old when she ate a chicken wrap purchased at a KFC in Australia in 2005. She was hospitalized in serious condition and spent months in a coma. The judge ruled in favor of the victim, awarding her 8 million Australian dollars.

KFC has said it will appeal the judge’s decision.

And, in the midst of all this, just last week WFAA-TV (Dallas/Fort Worth) published an investigation they did regarding reports of spoiled chicken meat—the reports were coming from KFC employees, not patrons. Apparently, some of the KFC workers had noticed a “stench” coming from the walk-in cooler which housed the raw chicken meat. According to the workers, KFC has a policy that raw meat must be used within 10 days of being killed; however, workers claimed that some meat was still being cooked—and served—after sitting for up to 16 days.

The Conroe KFC is a franchise owned by Tem-Kil, Inc. Both Tem-Kil and KFC declined to speak on-camera with WFAA’s I-Team, but both, no surprise, expressed their commitment to high food safety standards. KFC also shut down the Conroe outlet for a week to investigate the charges and to provide additional food safety training to workers there.

Since the reopening of the Conroe KFC, health inspectors have visited the restaurant and did not find any food safety violations.

UPDATE: (9/18/12) We received this email from Doug Hernandez—the guy who holding the chicken in the picture above. Here’s what he had to say:

The KFC chicken sandwich that you posted on your site is actually my picture, and it is a real picture unfortunately. I did not think that it was going to get this much attention until my friend Greg mentioned that he had posted it on reddit.com.

The incident actually happened on August 31st, I originally filled out the feedback form on KFC’s website, but did not get a call or email. I posted the picture on the KFC Canada Facebook page, and got a response from them asking that I call the 1-800 number. I did and they filed a report and said they would be in touch with me. I have not heard back from them yet, that was on September 4th. I hope they will be getting back to me soon. That’s all I have on this so far for an update.

Guess we’ll see what happens…

 

 

Tags: Australia, Conroe TX, Food Poisoning, KFC, KFC Lawsuit, Monika Samaan, Raw Chicken, Salmonella, Tem-Kil Inc
Posted in Food Illness | 3 Comments »

KFC Free Meal Class Action Settlement – Cash Payouts!

September 15th, 2011. By AbiK

Yes, cash payouts for the seemingly ages-old KFC free meal class action lawsuit—as opposed to coupons. Oh but that’s right, this class action lawsuit was about coupons…remember?

If you recall, we posted about the KFC lawsuit one over a year ago—when the class action was first announced. This is the one where KFC was promoting online coupons for a 2-piece chicken meal with 2 sides and a biscuit—all for free. And, if you recall, the free meal deal was announced on Oprah–which, as we all know, if Oprah says it, touts it, recommends it or sings its praises any other way, you damn well better have your supply chain buttoned up ’cause those orders will be a-comin’ in. And KFC has now learned that the hard way.

So something like 5.7 million people who had coupons were left hanging sans a chicken wing or two because KFC ran out of the free meals. Which led to the KFC “Oprah Promotion” Class Action (as it’s being officially referred to).

Here’s what you need to know to get in on this one…

Are you part of the KFC Free Meal Settlement that was on Oprah?

Yes, if you downloaded the KFC free meal deal coupon between May 5, 2009 (starting at 9:00 a.m. CDT) and May 6, 2009 (until 11:59 p.m. CDT) from Oprah.com or unthinkfc.com and you went to snag your free meal and you did not receive one—nor did you receive any other form of compensation like a “chicken check” or some form of compensation from another restaurant unaffiliated with KFC/Yum! Brands (aka, the defendants) that agreed to accept the KGC coupons.

Do I still need to have my coupon as proof in order to be part of the KFC Settlement?

Surprisingly, no. But–of course–you are expected to be honest (or risk perjury charges) and, as is typical with lawsuit settlements, the more proof you have, the greater the settlement amount.

How much will I get from the KFC Oprah Meal Settlement?

If you have…

• the original coupon (with a unique bar code ending in a number other than “1234”) and you complete and sign a claim form, your settlement amount is $3.99 for each original coupon submitted, up to a total of $15.96 per household
• a PDF coupon (with a generic bar code ending in “1234”) and you complete and sign a claim form, you’re entitled to $2.00 for each PDF coupon submitted, up to a total of $8.00 per household
• no longer have either an original coupon or a PDF coupon but you complete and sign a claim form, you’ll be entitled to receive $1.00 for each original coupon or PDF coupon you downloaded, up to a total of $4.00 per household.

That last one’s the scouts honor one–with the “under penalty of perjury” bit.

When do I have to submit my KFC Free Chicken Meal Settlement claim form by?

If you want to be part of the settlement (ie, “opt in”), you need to fill out and submit a claim form with the appropriate documents of proof by January 30, 2012.

To fill out a claim form and for full details, visit the claims administrator’s KFC Coupon Marketing Litigation Informational Website (in re Kentucky Grilled Chicken Coupon Marketing & Sales Practices Litigation).

Tags: KFC, KFC 2 piece chicken meal, KFC class action settlement, KFC coupons, KFC free meal, Oprah KFC meal deal, Oprah KFC promotion
Posted in Class Action, Emerging Issues, Settlement | No Comments »

KFC Free Chicken Lawsuits – Let’s do Chicken Right

July 13th, 2010. By LucyC

KFC and Yum! Brands Inc got hit with some bad news this week—a judge in Chicago has ruled that four lawsuits filed against them can proceed. What’s the beef? A bunch of crow. (Be warned, this could get worse…I’m on a roll). 

In fact, it’s all about chicken—free chicken—KFC grilled chicken meals with two sides and a biscuit, in fact. Cast your mind back to May 2009, when Oprah Winfrey announced that KFC was making coupons available across the country for the free meal. Well, no surprise—KFC was inundated. I recall this making the national news—people lining up for their free meals—with coupons in hand—only to be provided with a ‘rain check’ coupon when they got the counter. 

It should be noted that KFC printed more than 10 million coupons, according to a story in BusinessWeek. A spokeswoman for KFC is quoted in the BusinessWeek article, saying “Due to the overwhelming response, we distributed millions of rain check coupons for the holders of valid coupons who we were unable to serve during the offer period.” 

The promotion was supposed to run for two weeks and instead got shut down after two days. Some 5.7 million people were allegedly denied their free meals, which apparently retail for $3.99. 

So, a class action lawsuit has been filed. The judge in Chicago believes the allegations have grounds for common law fraud. 

Well. I’m in two minds about this. First of all, it was a nice gesture of KFC to offer these Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Free Chicken, Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC, Oprah
Posted in Consumer Fraud | 2 Comments »

KFC sued for doin’ Chicken half-right

September 29th, 2009. By AbiK

Kentucky Fried Chicken (which hopped on board the acronym branding bandwagon to be hip in the hood a few yeas back and so now is known as KFC) is the target of a lawsuit filed by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) in California.

The issue, which has been in the courts for several years now with several fast food chains including Burger King and McDonald’s, centers on the presence of PhIP—a chemical byproduct of cooking meats at high temperatures.

According to a report on SFGate.com, PhIP was added to California’s list of carcinogens in 1994—and as such, it falls under California’s Proposition 65 which requires a business to warn customers if they are being exposed to a substance that can cause cancer or birth defects.

And that’s what’s at the heart of the current lawsuit against KFC—the warning, or lack thereof.

Lest you think that the PCRM is some small, CA-based enclave of lotus-pose-lovin’ quacks (I say that as a yoga practitioner so back off), it’s actually based out of Washington, DC and claims Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: KFC, PhIP
Posted in Emerging Issues, Personal Injury | 1 Comment »