Is KFC safe ?

KFC a.k.a Kentucky Fried Chicken is a well known fast food franchise that has more than 14,000 outlets in more than 80 countries of the world.

The first KFC outlet in Indonesia was opened in Melawai area, South Jakarta, in October 1978, by the sole franchise holder i.e PT. Fastfood Indonesia Tbk (Gelael group). Since then, KFC has won the hearts of millions of people in Indonesia, and grown quite rapidly.

Kompas quoted the General Manager Business Development of PT. Fastfood Gandhi Lie as saying that by the end of this year there will be 460 KFC outlets in Indonesia.

Apart from the general issues about bad things that fast food products might cause to their consumers, so far there has not been any bad news about KFC and/or its products in Indonesia.

For that reason I was very surprised when I read on The Jakarta Globe  that KFC has been ordered by the New South Wales Supreme Court (Australia) to pay compensation amounting to US$ 8.3 Million to Monika Samaan who suffered severe brain damage and was paralyzed after eating a chicken wrap.

Monika was seven when she suffered Salmonella Encephalopathy i.e. a brain injury linked to food poisoning that also left her with a blood infection  and septic shock in October 2005.

Her family, who also fell ill, claimed that Monika's injuries were caused by a "Twister" wrap containing chicken and salad from a KFC outlet in Sydney.

As a person whose family have been consuming KFC products for so many years, I sincerely hope that the Department of Health would immediately inspect KFC outlets in Indonesia to make sure that their products are safe for consumption.