A south Auckland KFC customer says he was left "absolutely disgusted" after allegedly discovering fly eggs in his chicken.
Tom Masterton shared photos of his egg-infested meat to Facebook, which show a dead fly next to his meal. However some are questioning how they got there.
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Mr Masterton says he bought the chicken from Papakura KFC on Sunday morning. But when he got home he discovered something foul.
"Basically I ate three out of five pieces then on the fourth piece I saw the eggs," he told Newshub. "They seemed to be under the coating."
In the same container was the fly's body. The sight left him "absolutely disgusted" and "vomiting".
Mr Masterton says he then contacted KFC, and provided images to Newshub of his case number. But after KFC didn't respond, he decided to post his experience to Facebook.
"Omg we had it last night and felt unwell... boycott KFC Papakura that's disgusting we are never going back there," was one horrified reply.
But his account has been questioned online, with some saying it's impossible for the fly eggs to have got there.
"How do flies lay eggs in chicken that's been deep fried?" one person asked.
"The eggs are laid on the bone unless this is a hulk fly and torn through the chicken to get to the bone (even though flies don't care where they shit out their eggs) this whole thing happening at KFC is highly unlikely," another commented.
And a KFC spokesperson says it is "very unlikely this situation happened pre-purchase".
"Our strict food safety procedures in-store mean any contamination like this can only occur after the product leaves the store, particularly if it is left sitting un-refrigerated where flies and other contaminants can access it," says Geraldine Oldham, general manager of marketing for Restaurant Brands.
"We note in the customer's own image, there is a dead fly next to the chicken, which suggests it was left open to contamination once the customer left the store. The eggs are present within the cavity of the chicken and not on the surface of the skin, which again suggests it had been eaten and then been left uncovered.
"We are concerned that a lack of food safety knowledge can lead to customers making false claims about KFC's food safety on social media, or putting themselves at risk by not correctly storing or covering food that they don't eat immediately."
Mr Masterton has now been in contact with KFC, which is "doing something now".
But he is adamant his account is correct and he says one is for certain - he's definitely not going back, and he doesn't want any free KFC chicken.
Newshub.
