text: KFC opened up their kitchens to skeptics and fans alike on Saturday and there were no mutant chickens to be seen, the deep fryer was as clean as a whistle and the salad was crisp. It was no-doubt enough to convince some critics of one of the world's biggest fast food chains that it isn't all bad, but health experts still say that no matter how hygienic the conditions of the 612 KFC outlets in Australia are, the food they make just isn't good for you. The franchise allowed hundreds of people to take a look behind the scene of 219 stores and roam from freezer to fryer while watching staff continue their daily cooking and preparation tasks, in a bid to prove their chicken is fresh and there's nothing to hide. Scroll down for video . KFC allowed hundreds of people to tour the back of 219 stores across Australia and roam from freezer to fryer on Saturday . The fast food giant hoped to dispel myths around the quality and freshness of their ingredients and prove their chicken was fresh and cooked in the kitchen of each store . 'They'll see exactly what happens, we haven't airbrushed anything,' Nikki Lawson, Chief Marketing and Development Officer for KFC, told Daily Mail Australia. 'They'll see exactly how it's done, they'll get to look in the fridges at the ingredients and the products we've got, they'll be able to watch the cooks making the chicken and the burgers being assembled and how its eventually served to the customer.' Ms Lawson said the fast food giant hoped to dispel 'blanket perceptions' of negativity around the quality and freshness of their ingredients. 'It's not something that's made in a factory offsite somewhere and it gets delivered here and we reheat it,' she said. 'If you look at the ingredients and processes we use, it's actually like fabulous home cooked food, and it's just done in a slightly bigger commercial kitchen.' Daily Mail Australia attended an earlier tour of the KFC store outside Sydney's Airport in Mascot, alongside four couples who had registered as skeptics and fans . In one of two cool rooms, selections of raw chicken were seen packed in boxes marked with use by dates and the type of cut: whole chickens, zingers cuts, wings etc. A senior cook was then seen flouring and seasoning batches of the selections by hand, before distributing them between one of the six fryers . Daily Mail Australia attended an earlier tour of the KFC store outside Sydney's Airport in Mascot, alongside four couples who had registered as skeptics and fans. In one of two cool rooms, selections of raw chicken were seen packed in boxes marked with use by dates and the type of cut: whole chickens, zingers cuts, wings etc. A senior cook was then seen flouring and seasoning batches of the selections by hand, before distributing them between one of the six fryers. However everything else in the kitchen was delivered in boxes: chips, nuggets and popcorn chicken were stored in another of the cool rooms, fresh vegetables are delivered pre-cut in bags and bread is also delivered from a bakery and stored in boxes. A store manager confirmed that the gravy was made from a combination of the run off from chicken cooked in the store and packets of potato. However everything else in the kitchen was delivered in boxes: chips, nuggets and popcorn chicken were stored in another of the cool rooms, fresh vegetables are delivered pre-cut in bags and bread is also delivered from a bakery and stored in boxes . The skeptics on tour with Daily Mail Australia expressed their surprise and approval at KFC's high standard of hygiene, including the two coloured handles fitted on each of the cool room doors - red for hands that had touched raw chicken and silver for those that hadn't - as well as multiple sinks. However Alexandra Jones from The George Institute for Global Health warned consumers not to equate KFC's attempt to build customer trust through displaying respectable food safety standards and their message of 'freshness', with healthiness. 'Regardless of the freshness of the chicken, KFC's biggest selling products are still prepared in a manner that leaves them high in things like fat and salt,' Ms Jones told Daily Mail Australia. 'We would encourage attempts by KFC to increase the transparency of their operations and provide interested customers with an insight into how their food is prepared. At the same time, it's important not to pretend that this is about the healthiness of KFC's range. Alexandra Jones from The George Institute for Global Health warned consumers not to equate KFC's attempt to build customer trust through displaying respectable food safety standards and their message of 'freshness', with healthiness . 'Regardless of the freshness of the chicken, KFC's biggest selling products are still prepared in a manner that leaves them high in things like fat and salt,' Ms Jones told Daily Mail Australia . 'KFC is still in the business of deriving profits from fried chicken, which is provided free to tour participants. 'We'd like to see KFC demonstrating innovation in progressively reducing salt, sugar and fat from its products together with other initiatives like restricting portion sizes and continuing to offer healthier options in the product range.' Each of the skeptics invited to the Mascot store's back-of-house claimed to have had their minds changed by the tour. 'It is much fresher than I ever expected it would be. I thought the chicken was frozen and it was actual fresh chicken… there was pieces of cut up chicken; soft, squishy, real, fresh chicken, even with feathers,' Melissa Graham, 35, told Daily Mail Australia. Each of the skeptics invited to the Mascot store's back-of-house claimed to have had their minds changed by the tour. 'It was really good to see all the hygiene standards that they've got,' Nic Wittison (pictured) said . 'It's still deep fried chicken, but knowing that its cooked properly and that it doesn't just sit there all day makes it somewhat better,' he added . 'It was really good to see all the hygiene standards that they've got, especially the hold times for the chicken [20 to 90 minutes] and the checking of the chicken so they make sure its cooked every morning,' Nic Wittison, 26, said. 'It's always hard to tell whether the people that work actually care enough to follow all the procedures, but they have quite detailed things like how many times you have to shake the chicken [when flouring]. 'It's still deep fried chicken, but knowing that its cooked properly and that it doesn't just sit there all day makes it somewhat better.'
target: KFC opened 219 of its kitchens to hundreds of people on Saturday .
  Fast food giant hoped to dispel myths around the quality and freshness .
  Move was designed to prove to customers the chain uses fresh chickens .
  Tour skeptics expressed surprise at the quality of ingredients used .
  But health experts have warned consumers not to mistake good hygiene standards and 'freshness' for healthiness .