KFC digests antibiotics concerns

Foreign media recently reported that Shanghai Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) found some of KFC’s chicken supply in some restaurant chains within the city had abnormally high antibiotic levels.  
Due to this negative news Yum Brands, the owner of KFC chains, was quoted as saying  all Chinese KFC restaurants’ turnover could decline.

Yum Brands’ shares’ value has already been reduced by 4 per cent since Chinese TV channel CCTV said that some KFC’s chicken suppliers in Shandong province fed their chicken by high-content antibiotic and growth hormone, according to Shanghai Daily.

Facing such bad news, many parents in Hanoi showed concern about the quality of chicken served at KFC restaurants within the capital.

“Hearing such news, we are really worried. Our children like KFC very much and they eat it everyday for lunch before going to school,” said Vu Thu Huong, a sales manager at Noventis Vietnam.

Nguyen Quoc Anh, a marketing manager at VTC Game, said he would restrain himself from fast-food habit.

“Who knows if the same story happens in KFC Vietnam? Actually, there were some complaints about smelly chicken at a Hanoi-based KFC restaurant about two years ago. Perhaps, I have to stop eating KFC until there is confirmation of chicken quality from the firm,” said Anh.

However, KFC Vietnam declined to comment on the issue when contacted by VIR.

Do My Hanh, a PR manager at South Korean fast-food brand BBQ Chicken, one of KFC’s rivals in Vietnam, said Thailand’s CP Group was the chicken supplier for KFC, BBQ Chicken and Lotteria Vietnam.

“It is now hard to say whether  KFC Vietnam would be affected by the news from KFC Shanghai,” said Hanh.

KFC Vietnam, the first international fast-food maker appeared in Vietnam in 1997, has 130 outlets to date, with a growth rate of 20 to 30 new restaurants per year.