A Liverpool KFC branch has suspended three members of staff amid claims they sold non-halal meat as halal.
An investigation was launched by the fast food chain after reports its Edge Lane outlet served customers with non-halal chicken one evening during August bank holiday weekend.
The company today issued an apology over the incident.
Russel Smith, Chief Operations Officer at KFC said: “As soon as the issue came to our attention we launched an immediate investigation resulting in the suspension of a number of employees. This is a breach of our robust policy and procedures, it should not have happened, and I’d like to personally apologise on behalf of the business to customers of the Edge Lane store. While the investigation is ongoing, we’d like to assure customers that the store is now serving 100% halal chicken.”
The Edge Lane restaurant is the only halal KFC in Liverpool and one of several designated halal branches around the UK which serve meat killed according to Islamic requirements.
A source told the Liverpool ECHO: “It’s morally wrong and horrible. It happened over the weekend when the Liverpool International Music Festival was on. They ran out of halal products because it was so busy.”
The ECHO has been told staff at the store obtained non-halal chicken from a nearby KFC store and sold it to customers at the Edge Lane outlet as halal. It is understood KFC’s popular Popcorn Chicken was sold to members of the public as halal when it wasn’t.
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The source said non-halal and halal products were also stored together, which is against strict rules.
The ECHO was also told by the source: “The main reason that’s the halal store is because it’s near Wavertree and Toxteth where a lot of the population is Muslim. I’d say about 80% of those who use the Edge Lane store are Muslims, the nearest other halal branch is in Manchester.
“These people pay for a product and they expect is to be what it says. It’s not a mistake, these people got the chicken and knew it wasn’t halal.”
