The CEO of the fast-food giant KFC's parent company Yum Brands Inc. apologized to Chinese customers on Thursday over a series of recent "disturbing" issues regarding the chicken supplies on its biggest market.
"I, on behalf of Yum China, sincerely apologize to you, " Su Jingshi, chairman and chief executive of Yum China, wrote in a statement, "We regret the shortcomings in our enterprise's self-checking process, our lack of internal communication, the slow adjustment of suppliers, our failure to notify the government about the test results as well as the inappropriate comments from several employees and the relatively slow and non-transparent external communication."
Su added they draw lessons from this controversy and make their customers 4 promises: "First, maintain the self-checking campaign we've had since 2005. Besides government supervision, we will keep on demanding suppliers be tested and improving the sample-reexamination approach, in order to avoid any problematic production going into Yum's logistics system," Su wrote.
"Second, strengthen the communication with the authorities and report problems in time when we discover them during the self-checking process," he continued, "Third, raise the standard for suppliers who should receive tighter control and supervision of food safety, and strictly apply their qualifications. Finally, we will help chicken suppliers adopt advanced breeding measures and administration models."
Su Jingshi said Yum China still considers food safety its top priority. He asked Yum's staff to continue their hard work, listen to the voices coming in from all directions, and try their best to earn back the customer's trust.
The scandal broke out when China Central Television (CCTV) reported in late December that several poultry farmers in Shandong Province had given their chickens excessive amounts of antibiotics, including amantadine and ribavirin, in order to help them accelerate growth and survive the overcrowded chicken houses. The report triggered nationwide concern about food safety. Some of the chickens were supplied to KFC and McDonald's.
The Shanghai Food and Drug Administration said that tests conducted by a third-party agency between 2010 and 2011 had found that eight batches of chicken meat supplied to the company by Liuhe Group Co., contained excessive levels of antibiotics. Yum also stated it had stopped all supplies from Liuhe in August of 2012.
Shares of Yum Brands Inc. fell Tuesday after it said issues of suppliers had hurt its China sales more than expected. Its China same-store sales fell by 6 percent year-on-year over the fourth quarter, compared to the previous estimate of a 4 percent decline.