Lettuce shortage forces Australia KFC to switch to cabbage

SYDNEY, Australia - Fried chicken chain KFC said Tuesday that high lettuce prices in Australia have forced it to switch to a cabbage mix in burgers and other products, prompting customers to complain the result is less than "finger lickin' good".

The local price of the verdant leaf has soared by as much as 300 percent in recent months, forcing the fast-food chain to tweak the Colonel's recipe in some stores.

"We're currently experiencing a lettuce shortage. So, we're using a lettuce and cabbage blend on all products containing lettuce until further notice," the company told customers.

The company blamed widespread flooding in the country's east for the problem.

But supply chain expert Flavio Macau of Edith Cowan University said Russia's invasion of Ukraine was also a factor, pushing up diesel and fertilizer prices.

A single head of iceberg lettuce in Sydney or Melbourne that once sold for about $2 now goes for close to $8.

The company told customers: "If that's not your bag, simply click 'customise' on your chosen product and remove lettuce from the recipe :)"

The change was certainly not the "bag" of some social media users.

"The fact that you are replacing lettuce with cabbage makes me rethink my whole meal at KFC. There's 4 or 5 other things I would eat before cabbage Its such a weird choice," said one disgruntled tweeter.

"Feels like a sign of the apocalypse," said another.

Agence France-Presse

KFC to launch plant-based fried 'chicken' across United States

NEW YORK - Yum Brands Inc's KFC restaurants will start selling plant-based fried "chicken" from Beyond Meat Inc across the United States on Jan. 10 for a limited time, KFC said on Tuesday.

Beyond shares rose more than 7% in after-market trading. KFC, Yum's biggest brand, had nearly 4,000 restaurants in the United States at the end of 2020, according to a regulatory filing.

KFC started testing Beyond's plant-based chicken in August 2019 in Atlanta and expanded to more areas the following year.

In February 2021, Yum and Beyond announced a global partnership to create plant-based menu items for Yum's KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut over "the next several years."

Major fast-food chains have been vying for partnerships with faux meat makers as they add vegan and vegetarian menu options. Beyond rival Impossible Foods Inc is working with Burger King, a unit of Restaurant Brands International Inc.

Prices for the Beyond Fried Chicken at KFC will start at $6.99 in most places but will vary by location. (Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Richard Pullin and Karishma Singh)

-reuters

KFC table service for Valentine’s

Have you got kind of relationship with your better half, where you are comfortable enough to do things that don’t require a barrow-load of cash on Valentine’s Day? Have you got a sense of humour? Like greasy-ass fried chicken?

You’re in all kinds of luck, because KFC is going to be trialling a thing where you get table service on your date night. Of course, there’s going to be a lot of people being incredibly sniffy about this, but think about it – eating chicken and sitting on your behind even more, with a person you like. Fantastic.

The KFC date-night service will even give you flowers, some linen napkins, a candelabra, and the staff will bring you your bucket of chicken on a little stand, like you’re fancier than the colonel himself. Hopefully, they’ll have a posh man to come and ask you if you’d like to try the fizzy pop, like it is wine as well.

Again. It is clearly meant to be silly, and no, you don’t have to go, and the human race hasn’t reach a low point. This is clearly a brilliant thing, and BW is hoping that they’ll even cut our food up for us and feed it to us.

If you want in, you’ll have to make your way to the Fishergate branch in Preston. Why this particular outlet? Well, it was the first ever KFC in the whole of the UK, but it is also the place where Bob and Pat Fogg met in 1965, who have a date night in the restaurant once a week, every week, since that day.

Awww!

Seriously though – flowers are all well and good, but we’d sooner have a load of chicken wings and legs to plough through. This is clearly a fantastic idea AND it passes Dr Nick Riviera’s ‘window to weight gain‘ test! Result!

source: bitterwallet.com

KFC guilty in Australia salmonella brain damage case

Sydney -- An Australian girl who suffered severe brain damage and was left paralysed by food poisoning won a court case against fast food giant Kentucky Fried Chicken, in a judgment published Saturday.

Monika Samaan was seven years old when she suffered salmonella encephalopathy -- a brain injury linked to food poisoning that also left her with a blood infection and septic shock -- in October 2005.

Several other family members also fell ill and they claimed Samaan's injuries, which include severe cognitive, motor and speech impairment and spastic quadriplegia were caused by a KFC chicken Twister wrap.

She went into a coma in hospital and was so ill last rites were given.

The Supreme Court ruled in the family's favour, finding that her sickness was caused by "a KFC Twister... consumed predominately by Monika and in lesser quantities by her family."

Justice Stephen Rothman said the chicken became contaminated "because of the failure of one or more employees of KFC" to follow proper preparation rules, which he described as "negligent".

"There is some evidence, which I accept, that some employees were unaware of the full consequences of a breakdown in the system that was to be implemented," Rothman said in his judgment.

"Nevertheless, the conduct of the employee was negligent and KFC, as the employer, is vicariously liable for the negligence."

An internal review of standards at the store in the months before Samaan's illess assessed them at "breakdown" level, with particular criticism of hygiene and food preparation, Rothman said.

Though compensation will be determined in a separate hearing Rothman described the now wheelchair-bound Samaan's injuries as being of a type and severity that were "most rare".

"She is now intellectually disabled, is unable to function independently, she needs total care and she will be unable to live a life filled with normal activities, relationships, milestones and achievements," he said.

"The plaintiff has been severely disabled at a very young age and as a result of her injuries, it is clear she will never enjoy the normal life that was expected of her prior to this catastrophic event."

KFC said it would appeal the decision.

"We believe the evidence showed KFC did not cause this tragedy and, after reviewing the judgment and seeking further advice from our lawyers, we have decided to appeal Justice Rothman's decision," said KFC Australia spokeswoman Sally Glover.

"We feel deeply for Monika and the Samaan family however we also have a responsibility to defend KFC's reputation as a provider of safe, high quality food."

source: interaksyon.com