On Monday, January 3, 2022, the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Kenyan chapter, shocked Kenyans after it announced that it had run out of potatoes due to the high demand during the festive season.
The company further urged Kenyans to be patient as they work on importing more potatoes, attracting criticism from Kenyans who questioned why they cannot buy locally produced potatoes.
KFC Chief Executive officer for East Africa Jacques Theunissen in a statement on Tuesday, January 4, revealed why the company cannot buy Kenyan potatoes.
He explained that it is mandatory for all suppliers of food they cook worldwide to undergo quality assurance vetting before being allowed to supply their products.
“The reason we cannot buy local (potatoes) at the moment is all suppliers need to go through the global Quality Assurance approval process and we cannot bypass that even if we run out to ensure that our food is safe for consumption by our customers,” he said.
The revelations by KFC angered a section of Kenyans who took to social media to call for a boycott of all KFC products.
Kenyans raised the concerns of local potato farmers who continue to lament the poor prices for their produce locally and the lack of marketing abroad.
