T.G.I. Friday's(R) Requests Criminal Investigation Regarding Recent Snake Head
Incident
CARROLLTON, Texas, May 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Earlier today, T.G.I. Friday's
requested a criminal investigation with the New York State Police into the
product tampering that occurred at their Clifton Park, New York T.G.I.
Friday's restaurant on Sunday, May 3, 2009.
On the evening of Sunday, May 3, a guest claimed that a severed snake's head
was served with his vegetables. "This is obviously something we took very
seriously and we immediately pulled the product from all of our restaurants
until an investigation could be completed," said Amy Freshwater, vice
president of communication and public relations for Carlson Restaurants
Worldwide, parent of T.G.I. Friday's.
As part of the investigation the object in question was sent to an independent
laboratory for testing, and today the lab provided written confirmation that
the object in question, a snake's head, was never cooked. It has been
concluded that the snake's head was placed in the food at some point after the
cooking process. "We don't know who was involved in this senseless act of
product tampering, but we are cooperating fully with the authorities and will
prosecute the individual or individuals involved to the fullest extent of the
law." Freshwater continued, "Product tampering is a serious offense and
impacts all restaurants, not just Friday's." At this time the police are
investigating all possibilities of who was involved in this act.
Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc., the parent company of TGI Friday's Inc.,
is a privately held company owned by Minneapolis-based Carlson, a world leader
in the hospitality, travel and marketing industries. As of May 2009, Carlson
Restaurants Worldwide owns, operates, franchises or licenses approximately
1,000 restaurants in 60 countries. For more information, visit
http://www.fridays.com.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060907/DATH025LOGO)
SOURCE TGI Friday's Inc.
Derek Farley of DFPR, +1-704-926-6580, derek@dfpr.com, or Amy Freshwater of
Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, +1-972-662-5549, afreshwater@crww.com, both for
T.G.I. Friday's Inc.
