Dead worm in a Twister

What was supposed to be a delicious fast food meal turned out to be a gross experience for a resident from the north of Pretoria when she discovered a dead lettuce worm in her food.

Melissa Correia and her boyfriend Jaco Grobler visited the KFC branch at Zambezi Junction in Montana Park on Saturday evening. They left the drive-through after paying for their meals and headed back home towards Kameeldrift. It was during this time that she discovered a worm in her half-eaten Twister, Correia said.

“Immediately after seeing the worm in the meal I had been eating, I became sick,” she said. Grobler said he and Correia then drove back to the KFC branch and complained to the manager about what happened. “We also contacted the head office and filed an official complaint,” he said.

Grobler added that this was not the first time he had had a bad experience at this branch. “On two occasions earlier this year we ordered Zinger meals. The spicy sauce was far hotter than usual and my girlfriend and I had food poisoning on both occasions,” he alleged. KFC’s South African spokesperson, Gail Sham, responded to this incident by saying that nothing was more important to the company than the safety and well-being of their customers. “It’s why we boast some of the highest food safety and supply chain control standards in the industry. We use these systems to make sure that our customers receive only the best quality food,” Sham said. She added that customers’ feedback was taken seriously and that a full investigation would be conducted into the matter.

“All of our fresh produce is sourced from local suppliers who have strict processes in place to eliminate any risk of contaminants. We have contacted our supplier and asked that they reinforce these processes and standards to confirm that all the necessary precautions are taken at all times,” she said. Regarding the meals that were reported as being far too spicy, Sham assured Rekord that these meals were prepared with the same recipe across all stores. “It’s never changed or altered in any way.”

She encouraged customers to provide the company with feedback via the customer care centre on 0860-100-222 or kfccustomercare@dsg.co.za.

“This will help us to effectively track and manage complaints to better improve our products and services.”