Thoothukudi: Food Safety department officials have suspended the FSSAI licence of a KFC outlet in Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi district for using prohibited magnesium silicate-synthetic for purifying old-used cooking oil, officials said on Friday. Later, in a statement, KFC clarified that their dishes are completely safe for consumption as per the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India norms.
A team comprising District Food Safety Officer Mariyappan and Area Food Safety Officer Kalimuthu conducted a surprise inspection at the outlet on Thursday night (July 4,2024). During the inspection, sources said, the team found the international chain had stocked magnesium silicate-synthetic and had stocked old used cooking oil in their kitchen. The use of magnesium silicate synthetic is not approved for purifying used cooking oil, as was being done at the store, the sources added.
Seizure Of Old Cooking Oil, Fried Chicken
The inspection led to seizure of about 18 kg of magnesium silicate-synthetic along with 45 litres of old cooking oil purified using it, from the outlet. The team also stumbled upon 56 kg of pre-prepared chicken kept unused for over 12 hours in the store's stock. The chicken was seized and destroyed, the officials added.
The food safety officials were also poring over other stocks and records to verify whether the store was non-compliant in any other aspects other than what were mentioned above. According to the food safety officials, the use of magnesium silicate-synthetic being used as a food additive without any mention of it in their stock register was a violation. No commercial kitchen has been approved to use the magnesium silicate-synthetic to purify old used cooking oil, the authorities added, and that it was deemed harmful for health.
The food licence of the outlet was withheld as a temporary measure. Officials said the outlet will not be able to operate until the licence is restored. In case of violations, if any, crops up during the investigation, the outlet will be shut down and sealed. Samples of magnesium silicate-synthetic and old cooking oil samples were sent for an analysis at food testing laboratories. Further action over the outlet will follow when the test results are made available to the authorities, they said.
KFC's Rebuttal
