Chicken Dripping Blood "Safe to Eat"... Then the Company's Attitude Suddenly Changed

Admits Mistake Immediately After Investigation Begins Following Media Tip

An incident occurred where red blood was seen flowing from chicken at a famous franchise. The company initially responded that there was no problem but later admitted the mistake and proceeded with a refund.

According to Yonhap News on the 23rd, a university student A living in Gongju, Chungnam, ordered franchise chicken for delivery on the 17th, and blood flowed from the bone onto the floor. The amount of blood was about one teaspoon, and it was red enough to be distinguished from the chicken seasoning.

The red circled area is blood that leaked from the chicken bone. The amount of blood was about one teaspoon, and the chicken leg felt overall undercooked.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Afterward, the headquarters confirmed that the red liquid was indeed chicken blood. Usually, chicken is sterilized and heated multiple times, so raw blood does not flow from the chicken, but it was presumed that the chicken leg in the product was larger than usual and not properly cooked, or blood remained inside the bone during the slaughtering process.

A said, "Since people are involved, chicken may be undercooked, or even if cooked well, blood may come out, and mistakes can always happen during the cooking process, but customer service is a different story," explaining the reason for reporting to the media.

On the day A discovered the blood, they inquired at the store, but the store shifted responsibility to the headquarters. When contacting the headquarters again, it was only by 2 p.m. the next day that they received the answer, "It is blood remaining in the bone, but it is safe to eat."

While waiting for the company's response, A could not eat the now cold chicken and threw it away. When A later asked for a refund, Company B told them to inquire with the delivery application (app) through which the chicken was ordered. However, the delivery app company, after speaking with the store owner who sold the product, said, "Since the product was prepared according to the manual, a refund is difficult."

Angry, A contacted the headquarters again and said they would report to the media, after which the headquarters processed a refund for A's chicken.

A said, "I wanted to stop because I know everyone is having a hard time these days, but the store owner's review being blinded and the comments left on the review criticizing me caused me mental distress," expressing their frustration.

The person in charge of B Chicken contacted A only after media coverage and explained the circumstances that caused blood to come out of the chicken and sincerely apologized for mistakenly advising to eat a product that should not have been eaten.

They also stated that they would conduct retraining to ensure there are no issues in customer service at the customer center and frontline stores. B Chicken contacted the delivery app company to restore A's blinded review, and the store owner also conveyed an apology to A.