'Worms’ in KFC meal identified as a kidney

A Barnstable man who discovered what he thought to be ‘worms’ in his KFC meal has vowed never to eat there again, despite being offered free food by the company. The man, who has asked not to be named, made the grisly discovery while eating a Family Feast chicken dinner at home with his family. He said: “I started tucking in and thought it didn’t taste very good so took a closer look. It looked like there were worms in the chicken so I just spat it out immediately.”



He took pictures of the meal bought at the KFC restaurant in Roundswell, Devon, and telephoned the firm’s customer service number to complain. The company has since said that the ‘foreign body’ was a kidney rather than worms and has offered him a full apology, as well as a voucher for a 12-piece family feast. “I’m quite keen on my shooting and prepare quite a lot of birds but I’ve never seen a kidney like that,” he added. “And I wouldn’t use those vouchers even if my dog was starving to death. It’s really poor quality and you wouldn’t expect it of a worldwide organisation like that.”

In a letter to the customer, KFC said: “The photo has been viewed by our technical department and they confirmed the foreign body has been identified as a kidney. Although totally natural and not in any way harmful we fully appreciate that it is unsightly and unappetising for many people. We would like to assure customers that KFC is firmly committed to providing great service to our customers. Our aim is to provide 100 per cent customer satisfaction on every visit and we apologise for failing to do so on this occasion.”



A spokesperson for the company added: “We sell 200 million pieces of chicken every year and always try to ensure the highest standards in every restaurant.  However because all our chicken on the bone is freshly prepared by hand, unfortunately on extremely rare occasions, human error can mean that a giblet is not removed in the preparation process. After an investigation we can confirm that this was the case and while there was no health risk, we agree it was unsightly. We have apologised with a gesture of goodwill and have reminded staff to pay extra attention when preparing our chicken to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”