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‘Cockroach’ trial for fast food giant KFC
28 Oct 2009Fast food giant KFC is to stand trial after a mouse, cockroach and flies were allegedly discovered at one of the company's London restaurants.
Health inspectors raided the Piccadilly branch to find a metre long pool of dried blood smeared on the floors of a storage fridge, City of Westminster Magistrates Court heard.
The British arm of Kentucky Fried Chicken Ltd denies 13 charges of breaching health and safety regulations in August last year.
The firm has hired its own expert to fight the charges and is due to stand trial next year.
Westminster City Council inspectors had carried out a spot check of the Coventry Street branch on August 15 last year.
Officials spotted a mouse running across the kitchen floor, a cockroach on the workbench and 20 flies hovering around raw food, it is claimed.
Ready to eat chicken had been placed on dirty shelves and black sticky grime' was spotted on the inside of bread roll and chicken containers, it is said.
They also noted fast food boxes were being stored on the floor beside a dirty broom and surrounded by flies, the court heard.
Bags of waste piled high on the kitchen floor were leaking on to the floor and gaps in the skirting boards were large enough to let rodents in, the prosecution allege.
One charge relates to longstanding' grime and mucky water on the floor and another cites filthy walls in the kitchen and cooler.
KFC further deny the existence of mould in the sink of the men's toilet and a metre-long stretch of dried blood on the floor of a walk-in fridge.
The company, based in Woking, Surrey, faces 13 charges of breaching health and safety regulations.
David Whiting, defending, said: "There are 13 summonses. There will be a not guilty plea in respect of each of them."
He claimed the council nearly ran out of time to charge KFC as the charges date back more than a year.
Prosecutor Sarah Selby said: "There have been visits on four or five occasions since but there are no more allegations."
A further hearing was set for February 22.
