Singapore—After a woman posted over social media that she found a loose screw in her meal, KFC apologised, saying that a faulty pot lid was the source of the screw. The fast-food giant added that an assistant manager had been negligent in reporting the matter.
Netizen Lili Ahmad took to Facebook on Oct 31 (Saturday) to say that she and her husband had ordered a Twister & Porridge Buddy Meal from the KFC at Punggol Oasis.
In the course of eating the porridge, they discovered a screw that was half an inch in size, which Ms Lili found on her spoon, according to a report on mothership.sg.
In her post, she said she was “disgusted and disappointed” and asked the restaurant chain to take “full responsibility”.
To its credit, KFC Singapore responded to Ms Lili’s post at once, expressing in a comment their “deepest apologies” and thanking her for bringing the matter to her attention. Assuring her that the company takes “food safety and hygiene matters very seriously,” KFC said it would further investigate the incident.
Since then, the fast-food chain has worked with the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in looking into the matter.
Channel NewsAsia reported on Nov 2 (Monday) that KFC had carried out a “full review of the outlet’s CCTV footage alongside repeated questioning of the staff,” the company said in response to questions on the incident.
“Upon receiving the feedback in the late morning of that day, KFC’s cross-functional team immediately took action and went to the restaurant in question to conduct a thorough check on all kitchen equipment for any missing screws,” KFC said.
After the review of CCTV footage, “It was then discovered that the assistant manager was negligent in her actions by failing to report the matter of a faulty pot lid, which ultimately led to the regrettable incident.”
The company added that disciplinary action has been taken toward two kitchen employees as well as the assistant manager, whose employment is under review at present.
KFC also extended an apology to Ms Lili, writing, “We are deeply sorry for the distress caused towards Ms Lili Ahmad and her family, and have reached out to offer our apologies, and are regularly checking on her well-being.”
In an update on the issue, she wrote in a Facebook post on Nov 2 (Monday) that the Operations Manager of KFC had gotten in touch with her “to apologise as they have found the root cause of how the screw landed in my porridge.” She added that it was “Quite dramatic” but wrote that she would not include it.
Ms Lili also thanked KFC and SFA for their in-depth investigations.
She added in comments to her post that KFC had offered her vouchers and coupons for meals. -/TISG
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