Road Kill Found in KY Restaurant's Kitchen

Road kill was found in a Chinese restaurant in Kentucky prompting health inspectors to shut down the popular restaurant.

Workers at the Red Flower Chinese Restaurant were seen wheeling in a box with a deer tail, foot, and leg dangling out of it, reports CBS. In full view of patrons, the box left a blood trail right into the kitchen and workers followed to mop it up.

Some customers immediately called the health department. Other customers immediately threw up.

To the restaurant's defense, the owners say that the deer meat was not intended for customers. Instead, the owners claim that they planned to prepare and eat the meat themselves, reports CBS.

But regardless of what they planned to do with the road kill deer meat, it's never a good idea to wheel in a bloody carcass into a kitchen while customers are eating.

Restaurants are required to comply with a variety of health and safety requirements to stay in business. The most important requirements that customers care about include cleanliness, sanitation, and proper food handling requirements. While these requirements vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, it's probably a safe bet that hauling in bloody road kill would violate the requirements pretty much anywhere.

The restaurant was closed down by Whitley County health inspectors. Surprisingly, the restaurant was not fined and reportedly can reopen if they pass another health inspection, writes CBS.

However, the long-lasting impact of wheeling in the roadkill may go far beyond administrative fines and penalties. Customers have already sworn off the Red Flower Chinese Restaurant. In fact, some customers have already sworn off Chinese food completely.

When opening a restaurant, business owners should remember that it can take years to build up loyalty and a customer base. But it only takes one bloody deer carcass to lose all that goodwill you built up.

Related Resources:

• Whitley County restaurant shut down after road kill found in kitchen (WYMT)
• Top 5 Restaurant Safety Concerns Not to be Overlooked (FindLaw's Free Enterprise)
• Alcoholic Pizza in Boston is for Adults Only (FindLaw's Free Enterprise)