KFC has struck more than 1,000 small chicken farms from its supply network in a bid to tighten quality control after the "instant chicken" scandal。

　　The company, a subsidiary of fast food giant Yum Brands Inc, told reporters yesterday that they would hasten the elimination of chicken farms and suppliers, test chicken meat for illegal drugs and encourage farmers to improve their methods。

　　"We saw hidden safety danger in the chicken supply chains from the incident and we are now taking action to eliminate those dangers at source," said Sam Su, chairman of Yum Restaurants China. "Starting now, we will stress strict management and the principle of zero tolerance in food safety. We will immediately drop any supplier that lacks the determination or the ability to manage breeding well."

　　The "instant chicken" scandal got its name after China Central Television reported chickens reared for KFC were being fed chemicals and 18 kinds of antibiotics to keep them alive and speed up their growth。

　　On January 10, Yum Brands apologized for the scandal and conceded that it hadn't reported excessive antibiotics detected in samples to the authorities. It said it had found faults in food testing procedures, and a lack of communication inside the company and with the public。

　　Also in January, an announcement on KFC's website said Yum Brands had destroyed batches of raw chicken suspected of being contaminated with an antiviral medicine, amantadine, which can affect the central nervous system。

　　Yum Brands CEO David Novak has said the company would need the "gift of time" for the controversy to die down, according to The Associated Press. Even before the chicken scare, sales growth in China was slowing and it fell into negative territory in October。

　　Executives blamed slower economic growth and comparisons with earlier explosive expansion. But KFC and other Western fast food chains also face mounting competition from young but ambitious Chinese rivals。

　　According to The Beijing News, Yum Brands, which also owns Pizza Hut, estimated that its January sales in the Chinese market had fallen by 37 percent, while KFC's sales alone were estimated to have dropped by up to 41 percent。(来源：Shanghai Daily)

　　因“速生鸡”事件备受关注和指责的肯德基，25日在北京召开名为“雷霆行动”的新闻发布会，宣布将通过六大行动确保鸡肉供应安全。据悉，肯德基已经在全国淘汰了1000多家相对风险较高的鸡舍，并将对所有供应商采取“食品安全一票否决”制度。

　　从发布会现场了解到，肯德基此次“雷霆行动”包括加速淘汰具有潜在风险的鸡舍、做好鸡肉供应商优胜劣汰、扶持新型养殖模式、加强检测、加强与政府沟通以及做好公众告知等六大行动，涵盖了对源头供应商的管理、企业自检流程重新设计以及信息公开化等三个层面。值得注意的是，其前三大行动均与加强对供应商的源头治理有关。

　　“‘速生鸡’事件错不在白羽肉鸡本身，而是部分养殖户的违规用药。此次事件让我们意识到，我们的鸡肉供应链上确实存在着一些安全隐患。”对此，肯德基母公司――百胜餐饮集团中国事业部主席、首席执行官苏敬轼解释称。在他看来，中国肉鸡业的规模化和企业化经营尚未达到先进国家的水平，加上生产成本不具有优势，一旦出现疫情，就有可能乱用药。“我们‘雷霆行动’的一项重要内容，就是要淘汰这些风险较高的鸡舍。”苏敬轼表示。

　　截至目前，肯德基已经取得了所有供应商的同意，淘汰了相对风险较高的1000多家鸡舍，约占其供应商鸡舍总量的十分之一。按照肯德基方面的说法，现在留下的鸡舍相对条件较好，也比较容易管理。与此同时，为保障鸡肉供应安全，肯德基还加强了对供应商的从严管理，实行“食品安全一票否决”制，即一旦发现存在违规用药等食品安全问题，将被立刻取消其供应商资格。

　　发布会上，针对此前公众质疑“洋快餐在中国、美国实施了不同标准”等问题，肯德基方面也做出了解释。苏敬轼表示，在肯德基的鸡肉供应链管理中，中国的措施最为严格：因为美国市场鸡肉供应相对成熟，没有滥用药物的现象，所以并不需要“食品安全一票否决”，不需要企业自检，更不需要末端监控源头供应。

　　取缔鸡舍、加强对上游供应商监管，是否会造成肯德基的涨价？对此，肯德基方面称，规模化养殖反而会降低成本和风险，取缔部分规模小、风险高的鸡舍对于成本而言并不一定增加多少，反而有利于成本控制。在此行动中，淘汰鸡舍的数量约占肯德基供应商鸡舍的1/10，肯德基不会以此理由涨价。