HELENA-WEST HELENA,Ark.– Helena-West Helena officials report that a recent trip to a local Helena-West Helena KFC sent a child to the hospital for food poisoning.
According to Helena-West Helena Police, a citizen informed the Helena-West Helena Police Department about her experience at a local Kentucky Fried Chicken through their Facebook page.
The restaurant is located at 789 Sebastian in West Helena.
The citizen said that she visited the KFC on Sunday, October 2, and after her five-year-old son ate the food he later became ill.
She said she took her son to the ER at a local hospital and he began gagging and throwing up.
According to the release, the citizen said she informed the KFC store manager about the incident October 5 and has not received a call back.
KFC Public Affairs Spokeswoman Kasey Mathes released the following statement Tuesday:
“KFC follows strict food safety and handling procedures and works closely with local and state Health Departments to ensure the safety of our food and health of our guests. In fact, a few days before, as well as immediately after we learned of this allegation, the Health Department conducted thorough investigations at the restaurant and found no evidence of temperature issues, pest issues, spoiled food, or any other issues of concern.Our chicken is inspected and hand-breaded in our kitchens by expertly trained cooks before being cooked to a temperature of 165F or higher, and hot-held at a temperature above 140F. Due to these strict procedures we have in place, we are confident that this did not occur while the food was still inside our restaurant.”
