KFC temporarily shuts all branches in Denmark after officials deemed them unfit to serve food

The US food company, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has shut down all its 11 branches in Denmark after food safety authorities deemed them unhygienic after inspection.

KFC which now has 34 branches in Ghana, opened its first branch in the country in August 2011. Masco Foods Limited, holds exclusive franchise for the KFC brand in Ghana.

According to the Danish news source  DR, the restaurant chain’s Western Europe head office has in an email response to inquiries said following the scandal all the branches in Denmark have been ordered shut until a new franchise is found.

On June 2, 2025, officials from the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration who visited KFC restaurants across the country for inspections found none of them worthy of a positive rating. The officials gave all the 11 branches negative ratings for being unhygienic and for serving food not good for human consumption.

The Administration has a smiley system for rating standards and quality of food services and products – Happy. Annoyed and Unhappy. When a restaurant is given a Happy smiley, it means inspectors found no problems. The Annoyed smiley means they found some problems and the restaurant would be asked to pay daily fines until the issue or issues are resolved. However, an Unhappy smiley means the inspectors found serious issues with the restaurant, and the company is instantly fined, reported to the police, and or closed down, until the issues are fixed before they are allowed to open. If inspectors found food that is unwholesome for human consumption, officials order that the food is destroyed.

According to KFC, the alleged conditions found in the restaurants in Denmark do not comply with the terms and obligations set out in their franchise agreements, adding that it has terminated its agreement with the Danish franchise partner, which means closure of the restaurant chains in the country.

DR said it spoke to some former employees who said they forged expiration date stickers for chicken. They also indicated that they made new stickers for chicken that has not been used before the expiration date.

By Emmanuel K Dogbevi

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