Yahoo – AFP, 11 Janaury 2013
US fast
food giant Yum! Brands has apologised to customers of its Chinese KFC
restaurants after a scandal over tainted chicken that dented sales at the
popular chain.
The Chinese
arm of the food empire, whose brands also include Pizza Hut, admitted it failed
to inform authorities about tests showing high levels of antibiotics in
chicken. It came after authorities launched a probe last month.
There is
deep sensitivity in China to the issue of tainted food following a string of
scandals, although foreign brands are normally more trusted and it is unusual
for one to get embroiled in such a controversy.
"We
did not take the initiative to inform the government about test results,"
Yum China's chairman and chief executive, Sam Su, said in the statement late
Thursday.
"We
feel regret for all the problems and I sincerely apologise to the public on
behalf of the company," he said.
The company
also pledged to improve the screening process of suppliers and communication
with Chinese regulators, the statement said.
The scandal
came to light when China's commercial hub of Shanghai and the northern province
of Shanxi said last month that they were investigating KFC suppliers over
claims of high levels of antibiotics.
The company
said at the time it was cooperating with a government investigation into two
poultry suppliers that provided chicken with "unapproved" levels of
antibiotics.
The
Shanghai government has said Yum was aware of the issue through testing by a
third-party in 2010 and 2011 but did not report to the authorities. The company
has already stopped using the local supplier, Liuhe Group.
The scandal
has hit Yum's Chinese operations. It said this week sales in the key market
were forecast to fall six percent in the fourth quarter of last year following
the probe, instead of the previously expected four percent drop.
Nevertheless,
Chinese consumers say they will continue to eat in KFC, which is still
perceived as better quality than small, individually-owned restaurants.
China's
agriculture ministry has said it was investigating reports that poultry
producers were giving hormones and other supplements to chickens to make them
grow faster, but it did not cite Yum.
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