McDonald's north and east franchisee puts tomato off the menu as price soars
New Delhi, July 7: Fast food chain McDonald's has stopped using tomato in its food preparations at most of the stores in northern and eastern parts of the country citing the non-availability of quality products, amid the price of the commodity surging up to Rs 200 per kg.
McDonald's India - North and East said it is constrained to "hold tomatoes for the time being" and is trying to resolve this issue by employing sustainable agriculture practices.
"Due to seasonal crop issues arising out of farm fields in a few regions, there are not enough quantities meeting our quality specifications available. To ensure our customers get the best quality we are known to serve, we are constrained to hold tomatoes for the time being," said a McDonald's India - North and East spokesperson.
There is also a buzz going on in the social media over the absence of tomatoes on some of the top-selling products of McDonald's such as burgers.
Social media users are sharing pictures of burgers without tomatoes. Some of them also shared the notices put out by some of McDonald's stores informing the walk-in customer about the temporary unavailability of tomatoes.
Assuring the customers, McDonald's India - North and East spokesperson said: "We reiterate that it is not due to the surge in the prices. It is only due to the non-availability of tomatoes meeting our quality specifications."
However, he also added restaurants mostly in the Punjab-Chandigarh area where it is able to source the commodity in adequate quantities, McDonald's continues to serve tomatoes in its menu.
"We are working towards resolving this issue by employing sustainable agriculture practices including hydroponically-grown tomatoes in a completely controlled environment to de-risk our requirements from vagaries of season," he said, adding, "We should be able to bring back tomatoes to the menu soon."
McDonald's restaurants in north and east of India are operated by Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt Ltd (CPRL), which is its masters franchiser.
Stores in southern and western regions are operated by McDonald's another master franchiser Westlife Group.
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Allen, Raghuvanshi, Green power KKR to 29-run win over GT
Kolkata (PTI): Finn Allen blasted a 35-ball 93, while Angkrish Raghuvanshi hit an unbeaten 44-ball 82 as Kolkata Knight Riders kept their playoff hopes alive with a 29-run win over Gujarat Titans in the IPL match here on Saturday.
Sent in to bat, Allen went on a six-hitting spree, smashing 10 maximums and four boundaries to add 95 off 41 balls with Raghuvanshi (82).
Raghuvanshi then shared another 108 off 53 balls with Cameron Green (52 not out) to power KKR to a challenging 247 for 2.
In reply, GT could manage 218-4, riding on skipper Shubman Gill's 49-ball 85 and a 35-ball 57 from Jos Buttler. Opener Sai Sudarsan was retired hurt but returned to make a 28-ball 53 not out.
Sunil Narine (2/29) claimed two wickets and Saurabh Dubey snapped one for KKR.
For GT, Mohammed Siraj (1/50), Sai Kishore (1/38) were the wicket-takers.
Brief Score:
KKR: 247 for 2 in 20 overs (Finn Allen 93, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 82 not out, Camero Green 52 not out; Mohammed Siraj 1/50).
GT: 218 for 4 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 85, Sunil Narine 2/29).
