American fast food retail giant Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has said it cannot share the quality standards that Kenyans wishing to supply it with potatoes must meet due to proprietary restrictions.
In the latest blow for farmers who were lining up to bid for the lucrative deal, the food chain in a response to the Business Daily said it does not disclose such information.
“We do not disclose proprietary information around sourcing and pricing,” the firm said in response to Business Daily questions on the required standards for farmers wishing to take up the supply challenge.
KFC this week relaxed its earlier stand on using only imported potatoes for chips, saying Kenyan farmers can supply so long as they meet their global quality and safety specifications. It relaxed its position after furore that lasted more than 24 hours on various social media platforms.
But the firm declined to disclose those standards in a move set to lock out hundreds of potato farmers interested in the supplies contract.
The firm added that in as much as their frozen chips are currently imported into Kenya, they have been on a journey to identifying a local supplier that has the processing, tracking and cold chain management capability to supply it with chips.