Almost two weeks ago on 19 Mar, a couple found what they suspected to be fly eggs in their KFC chicken wings.
Source: The New Zealand Herald
Reacting in disgust, they filed a complaint with the local authority for food safety.
However, the company has claimed that the eggs could not have originated from the eatery’s premises.
Speaking to The New Zealand Herald, the man said he and his girlfriend purchased a pack of eight wings from a KFC outlet in Westgate, a town centre in Auckland.
Source: The New Zealand Herald
They headed home after their purchase, not opening the food at any point during the journey.
In the middle of their meal, they came across a cluster of tiny grain-like items nestled in the fried skin of one of the wings.
Source: The New Zealand Herald
The pair then Googled what maggot eggs look like, which supposedly confirmed their suspicions as to what they were.
Disgusted by the sight, the woman fled to the bathroom and vomited her meal back up.
The discovery was, unsurprisingly, “sickening” to them, her boyfriend explained.
“She just felt so sick seeing the fly maggot larvae and was worried they may have been on a previous piece of chicken,” he added.
The couple filed a complaint with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), the main authority for food safety in the country.
A spokesperson from KFC has since addressed the issue, telling The New Zealand Herald that they have not received any complaints.
According to their cooking processes, the eggs could not have come from their outlets, the spokesperson claimed.
KFC chicken, they explained, is cooked under pressure at over 100°C, reaching an internal temperature above 85°C.
Because of this, fly eggs, like the ones in the photo, would not be able to survive the cooking process.
In line with the Food Act 2014, KFC also serves food at temperatures greater than 60°C.
The spokesperson pointed out that flies would only lay eggs on surfaces with temperatures ranging between 10°C and 40°C.
Additionally, the restaurant stores raw chicken at below 5°C and during the cooking process, the meat will reach an internal temperature of above 85°C.
After that, the product is kept at a temperature of above 60°C.
In response to The New Zealand Herald’s enquiries, Deputy Director General of MPI Vincent Arbuckle said they were looking into the complaint.
However, simple photos weren’t evidence enough to confirm where the eggs had originated from.
“It is important not to apportion blame to businesses until the facts can be established,” he clarified.
Mr Arbuckle added that flies couldn’t survive cooking processes, nor do they land on hot food. However, they have been known to lay eggs on warm food.
If flies had indeed laid eggs while the eatery was preparing the meal, it was a sign of a major failure on their part.
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Featured image adapted from The New Zealand Herald.
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