Taiwan fried chicken staff filmed barefoot stomping on raw chicken skin & joking that he was 'exfoliating' it

A fried chicken chain in Taiwan faced a food safety investigation after a video surfaced of an employee stomping barefoot on raw chicken skin while joking to the camera that he was "exfoliating" it.

The video showed a shirtless male employee standing in a basin filled with chicken skin and repeatedly stomping on it.

Several other basins containing what appeared to be more chicken skin were also visible in the background.

The restaurant involved is Wu Liang Wu Fried Chicken's Taiping branch in Taichung, according to UDN.

台中伍兩五炸雞爆食安爭議　踩雞皮影片引發撻伐　食安處介入稽查、業者稱涉事食材已報廢 pic.twitter.com/uHphwPEaBU

— 記者爆料網 (@zhe_wang71411) July 9, 2026

Consumers furious

The video drew immediate backlash, with many saying they would never eat at the restaurant again.

Online commenters flooded the shop's Google reviews with one-star ratings and renamed the listing "Barefoot Fried Chicken Specialist" and "Foot Reflexology Shop".

Some former customers also left comments demanding refunds, per UDN.

Shop apologises, says chicken skin was discarded waste

The restaurant issued an apology statement on Threads on Jul. 9, saying that the chicken skin in the video was scrapped food waste that had not been sold to customers, and that the employee had filmed it as a prank without realising it would be shared publicly.

The statement said the employee had been dismissed and that the company would pursue legal action against him.

It also said the restaurant would strengthen staff training and was cooperating fully with authorities.

Unconvinced

According to UDN, the apology did little to win back public trust.

Many commenters questioned the "discarded waste" explanation given the large quantity of chicken skin visible in the video.

One commenter wrote: "This much and you're telling us it's waste? Great PR."

Another said: "I don't believe it for a second. The person in the video is clearly the boss. Consumers can all see it."

A third questioned: "Can any test even detect whether something has been stomped on with feet?"

Authorities investigating

According to China Times, food safety authorities have opened an investigation and will send inspectors to the restaurant.

If the restaurant is found to have violated the Good Hygiene Practice guidelines, it will be ordered to rectify the issues within a set period.

Failure to comply could result in fines ranging from NT$60,000 to NT$200 million (S$2,414 to S$8,046) under Taiwan's Food Safety and Sanitation Management Act.