KFC staff didn't follow food rules - judge

Staff at a Sydney KFC restaurant where a young girl was left severely brain damaged after eating a Twister wrap used to throw food around the kitchen and broke hygiene rules.

The family of Monika Samaan successfully sued KFC, claiming the then seven-year-old contracted salmonella after eating a chicken wrap in Villawood in 2005.

Judge Stephen Rothman found in favour of the family in the NSW Supreme Court last Friday.

In his judgment, Judge Rothman said strict food safety rules were not being followed by staff employed at the fast-food outlet at the time Monika fell ill.

He said KFC had breached its duty of care to the young girl, who is now a quadriplegic and severely brain damaged.

"But for the negligence of the staff, the harm to Monika would not have occurred," Judge Rothman said in his judgement, which was published on the NSW Supreme Court website at the weekend.

The manager in charge of the Villawood KFC in 2005 told the court that getting staff to follow food safety procedures was a problem.

Some staff members also testified that they used to throw food around as a joke, saw chicken fall to the floor and people handling food without gloves on.

"The evidence was consistent that the standards set by KFC were not met during the latter half of 2005," Judge Rothman said.

"The contamination has occurred because of the failure of one or more employees of KFC to adhere to that procedure."

An assessment of the restaurant conducted at the time Monika ate the Twister found it was operating at "breakdown" level and scored just 51 out of a possible 100 points for criteria including cleanliness, the court heard.

Cleaning checklists were apparently not being used by staff and many were not following hand-washing procedures.

Judge Rothman said some staff might not have been fully aware of the potential consequences of not following the strict procedures around food safety.

"Nevertheless, the conduct of the employee was negligent and KFC, as the employer, is vicariously liable for the negligence," he said.

KFC has vowed to appeal the decision, a move the Samaan family has criticised.

"They (KFC) represent themselves as great sponsors of cricket in Australia," the family's lawyer George Vlahakis said in a statement.

"It is a real pity that they will not abide by the umpire's decision."