KFC's parent firm Yum! Brands Inc publicly apologized to consumers Thursday for its lateness in disclosing a test result related to a contaminated chicken scandal.
Yum! admitted that poor self-inspection, internal communication and cooperation with suppliers had contributed to the incident in an open letter to consumers published on its website Thursday.
The apology came in response to recent widespread criticism for concealing the results of a self-test that revealed chicken products containing excess traces of antibiotics, and promised that the company would promptly release self-inspection information to the public and intensify quality requirements for suppliers.
Sales in Yum!'s China division fell 6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, worse than an earlier forecast of a 4 percent decline, the company warned in a regulatory filing submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission Monday.
It believed that a negative image of KFC shaped by the chicken scandal triggered the sharp sales drop in China.
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