Teen burned in KFC poutine mishap

By DON PEAT, TORONTO SUN 
Last Updated: 19th January 2010, 9:07am

Kendell Lakin, 15, of Acton, burned her face after having an epileptic
seizure at KFC and falling into her poutine. (Photo courtesy of the
Lakin family) 

This doesn't sound finger lickin' good.

An Acton teen was left with second-degree burns Saturday after having an
epileptic seizure inside a KFC outlet and landing face-down in her
piping-hot poutine.

Her irate father told the Sun Monday he's not after a multi-million
dollar lawsuit, he just wants to speak out to warn others and perhaps
get the Colonel to turn the temperature down on the cheese and gravy.

Lee Lakin said he even accepts some responsibility for the incident
because he let his daughter Kendell, 15, go to fast-food outlet alone on
Saturday. 

"I'm not looking for $10 million," Lakin said. "I'm looking for someone
to stand up and say, 'We're sorry Mr. Lakin, we're sorry Kendell. We
want to make this right and hey everybody this food is hot.'"

When his daughter went into a full seizure inside the town's Queen St.
KFC, the teen fell forward into the poutine she had just purchased,
burning her chin and neck. 

Customers in the restaurant rushed to her aid, pulling her out of the
Canadian classic dish. Someone inside the restaurant called 911 and her
family.

Lakin got to the eatery a short time later and while paramedics were
tending to his daughter, her chin started to blister and her neck
appeared red and burned. She went to the hospital and was treated for
second-degree burns.

Her chin and bottom lip have several large blisters.

"Her whole neck area was brutally red," Lakin said, adding even the
hospital staff were shocked the burns were caused by gravy.

A trip back to the KFC Sunday to speak to the manager got dad boiling
mad, because he said personnel seemed to show little concern for his
daughter.

"One comment the manager said to me was, 'The poutine comes in frozen so
we really have to heat it up,'" Lakin said. "KFC needs to figure out how
to make this poutine without burning people.

"You've got hot gravy and hot cheese, two really hot elements in there."

Priszm Income Funds, the franchisee that owns the Acton location, issued
a statement to the Sun, expressing its concern about the incident.

"We feel terrible for our customer," the statement read. "We are
grateful that the customer is now recovering."

"While this particular situation is highly unusual, KFC in Canada is not
only committed to ensuring that our customers receive high quality
products, but we also take food safety and the general safety of our
customers very seriously."

The statement stressed that KFC in Canada complies with all government
food standards.

"Government regulations require that our gravy meets the critical
control point compliance requirements of temperatures between 140
degrees Fahrenheit and 165 degrees Fahrenheit," the franchisee stated.
"We've confirmed that our Acton store continues to meet these food
safety standards."