Mongolia suspends KFC outlets after hundreds of people have shown symptoms of food poisoning

ULAANBAATAR (Reuters) – Mongolia has temporarily suspended the activities of all KFC restaurants in the country. 42 people were hospitalized and hundreds exhibited symptoms of food poisoning after eating in one of the outlets of the fast food chain.

The incident took place in Ulaanbaatar last week and was caused by poor checks of internal hygiene, said the metropolitan professional inspection agency, adding that 247 people had reported symptoms of food poisoning , such as diarrhea and vomiting.

Preliminary checks have shown that this was caused by the water supply of the restaurant where bacteria have multiplied, the agency said Monday.

KFC, part of Yum Brands Inc., opened its first restaurant in Mongolia in 2013 and currently has 11 restaurants, all located in the capital. They are operated by its franchise partner, the Mongolian conglomerate Tavan Bogd Group.

"We deeply regret the negative impact that many people have suffered, especially for our guests at Zaisan Restaurant, and we are working to help our team members and customers at this difficult time," said a spokesperson. KFC Global's word to Reuters in an e-mail. mail on Tuesday.

"KFC Mongolia is cooperating fully with the government's investigation and recommendations to remedy the source of this incident. This includes a thorough investigation of all KFC Mongolia restaurants, and in particular to determine the exact cause of the reported incident. "

Tavan Bogd apologized in a separate statement, explaining that the incident had occurred due to inadequate internal quality controls and that the daily norms and rules were poorly enforced.