(WSVN) – No ice, please!
A BBC investigation found traces of fecal bacteria in ice served at McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King locations in the United Kingdom.
Thirty fast food restaurant locations were randomly selected for testing as part of BBC One’s Watchdog investigation, Fox News reports. Of the ten samples taken from each of the three restaurant chains, seven were found to be contaminated from KFC, six from Burger King, and three from McDonald’s.
Four of Burger King’s samples and five of KFC’s were found to have a “significant” level of the coliform (or “poo”) bacteria, according to the Liverpool Echo.
The report comes on the heels of a previous BBC investigation in July, finding three out of ten samples taken from U.K. Starbucks locations also contained fecal matter in their ice, CNBC reports.
All three fast food chains responded to the investigation, claiming hygiene is one of their top priorities.
“We are shocked and extremely disappointed by these results,” KFC’s statement said. “We immediately shut down the ice machines in the restaurants affected to conduct a thorough clean and inspection, and reinforced the importance of adhering to our strict procedures to all employees.”
McDonald’s issued a similar statement, saying, “Hygiene and safety practices are of the utmost importance to us and we’re proud that 99% of our restaurants have an independent hygiene rating of either good or very good… As the investigation highlights, there are no specific ice production standards in place, only those relating to unfrozen drinking water. We would therefore welcome the introduction of an agreed standard and would be happy to work with relevant industry bodies.”
A spokesperson for Burger King said, “Cleanliness and hygiene are a top priority for the Burger King brand. The strict procedures we have in place are designed to ensure all guests have a positive experience each time they visit our restaurants. We are proactively working with our franchisees in the U.K. to reinforce these procedures. This report is an opportunity for us to emphasize our training procedures and ensure all operations and safety standards are upheld in all Burger King restaurants.”
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