http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-36126788
Rip Off Britain: Faeces bacteria found on KFC ice
7 hours ago
From the section England
Media captionFinger lickin' bad: Faeces found on KFC ice in Birmingham
Bacteria from faeces has been found on ice that was served to an undercover researcher at a KFC restaurant.
The discovery was made by the BBC's Rip Off Britain, which was investigating food hygiene at branches of several big-name takeaways and coffee shops.
A scientist who examined the results told the programme the presence of the bacteria increased the risk of anyone who consumed the ice becoming ill.
KFC said it was extremely disappointed and had launched an investigation.
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Image caption
Faecal bacteria was found from ice served at this KFC in Birmingham
Dr Margarita Gomez Escalada studied the sample, taken from a Birmingham KFC restaurant, at Leeds Beckett University.
She told the programme: "We found high levels of bacteria in the ice.
"The presence of faecal coliform suggests that there's faecal contamination either on the water that made the ice, or the ice itself, and so it increases the risk of getting sick from consuming this ice."
Image caption
Dr Margarita Gomez Escalada examined the bacteria samples at Leeds Beckett University
Undercover researchers visited a branch of Costa in Loughborough, the Chicken Cottage in Hampstead, a Café Nero in Bath and the Wimpy in Basildon, as well as the KFC at Martineau Place in Birmingham.
At each location, Rip Off Britain said its researchers asked for a cup of tap water with ice, as this can be an good indicator of standards behind the scenes.
Most of the samples that were taken turned up low and harmless levels of bacteria when tested, Rip Off Britain said.
Dr Escalada said: "It's really hard to say how the faecal bacteria got to the ice that we tested. The thing I think is most likely is that it got there through manipulation. So someone touched the ice and their hands weren't particularly clean."
Find out more
Rip Off Britain: Faeces bacteria found on KFC ice
7 hours ago
From the section England
Media captionFinger lickin' bad: Faeces found on KFC ice in Birmingham
Bacteria from faeces has been found on ice that was served to an undercover researcher at a KFC restaurant.
The discovery was made by the BBC's Rip Off Britain, which was investigating food hygiene at branches of several big-name takeaways and coffee shops.
A scientist who examined the results told the programme the presence of the bacteria increased the risk of anyone who consumed the ice becoming ill.
KFC said it was extremely disappointed and had launched an investigation.
How can you tell the restaurant you're eating in is clean?
ADVERTISEMENT
Image copyrightGoogle Maps
Image caption
Faecal bacteria was found from ice served at this KFC in Birmingham
Dr Margarita Gomez Escalada studied the sample, taken from a Birmingham KFC restaurant, at Leeds Beckett University.
She told the programme: "We found high levels of bacteria in the ice.
"The presence of faecal coliform suggests that there's faecal contamination either on the water that made the ice, or the ice itself, and so it increases the risk of getting sick from consuming this ice."
Image caption
Dr Margarita Gomez Escalada examined the bacteria samples at Leeds Beckett University
Undercover researchers visited a branch of Costa in Loughborough, the Chicken Cottage in Hampstead, a Café Nero in Bath and the Wimpy in Basildon, as well as the KFC at Martineau Place in Birmingham.
At each location, Rip Off Britain said its researchers asked for a cup of tap water with ice, as this can be an good indicator of standards behind the scenes.
Most of the samples that were taken turned up low and harmless levels of bacteria when tested, Rip Off Britain said.
Dr Escalada said: "It's really hard to say how the faecal bacteria got to the ice that we tested. The thing I think is most likely is that it got there through manipulation. So someone touched the ice and their hands weren't particularly clean."
Find out more
