'Tomatoes need vacation': Burger King India as it removes tomatoes from burgers
New Delhi, Aug 16: Fast food chain Burger King has stopped using tomatoes in its food preparations, joining the list of other quick service restaurant (QSR) chains like McDonald's and Subway, amid soaring prices of the staple kitchen item.
Burger King, operated by Restaurant Brands Asia in the country with 400 stores, in a message on the support page of its website cited "quality" and "supply" issues as reasons for removing tomatoes from its food servings.
"We, at Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd, have very high standards of quality as we believe in serving real and authentic food. Due to unpredictable conditions on the quality & supply of tomato crops, we are unable to add tomatoes to our food. Rest assured, our tomatoes will be back soon," the message read.
It has requested customers to have "patience and understanding" for the situation.
Some Burger King India outlets have reportedly placed a notice with some humour, saying, "Even tomatoes need a vacation... we are unable to add tomatoes to our food."
QSR chains are facing disruptions in their supply chain due to soaring tomato prices and struggling to find quality products.
The retail price of tomato in some parts of the country is up to Rs 200 per kilogramme amid supply disruptions caused by heavy rains. This has forced the government to import tomatoes for the first time.
India is currently importing tomatoes from Nepal. Last week, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Parliament that India has started importing tomatoes from Nepal amid a record-high spike in the prices in the domestic market.
In July, fast food chain McDonald's had said it has stopped using tomatoes in its food preparations at most of the stores in northern and eastern parts of the country citing the non-availability of quality products.
"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," a McDonald's India - North and East spokesperson had said.
After that, Subway India also stopped using tomatoes to cope with the soaring prices in major cities.
As per the government data, all-India average wholesale price of tomatoes came down to Rs 88.22 per kg on August 15, when compared with Rs 97.56 per kg a month ago.
Similarly, all-India average retail price of tomatoes came down to Rs 107.87 per kg now from Rs 118.7 per kg a month ago, the data showed.
Meanwhile, the arrival of the fresh tomato crop in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh has started in wholesale mandis, cooling down the prices.
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UP: Tehsildar's vehicle hits biker, drags body for 30 km
Bahraich(UP), Dec 20: A government vehicle belonging to the tehsildar of Nanpara hit a biker and allegedly dragged his body for 30 kilometers.
The victim, identified as Narendra Kumar Haldar (35), a resident of Payagpur, was returning home when the accident occurred on the Nanpara-Bahraich road on Thursday evening. According to police, Haldar's body got entangled in the vehicle and was dragged for the entire distance, reaching the Nanpara Tehsil.
Naib Tehsildar Shailesh Kumar Awasthi, who is believed to be present in the vehicle at the time of the accident, has been recommended for suspension by District Magistrate Monika Rani. The vehicle's driver, Meraj Ahmed, has been arrested. Superintendent of Police Vrinda Shukla confirmed the incident and said, "It was confirmed that the body was dragged for 30 kilometers to Nanpara when the locations of the deceased Narendra Haldar and the tehsildar's driver Meraj Ahmed were tracked at the time of the accident."
Stating that the incident was a "big negligence", the officer added, "It is very unlikely that a body was stuck in the vehicle for 30 kilometers and no one came to know about it. It is possible that the vehicle was not stopped due to fear."
The officer said that a thorough investigation is underway to determine the exact circumstances of the accident. "Police are examining CCTV footage along the 30-kilometer route to reconstruct the sequence of events," said the SP.
In the police complaint lodge regarding the matter, the family members of the deceased have mentioned the vehicle of the tehsildar, police said.
District Magistrate Monika Rani said, "The matter of a car colliding with a bike came to notice. The Naib Tehsildar of Nanpara had come to Bahraich in the Tehsildar's car for some work and was returning to Nanpara. It has been learnt that a dead body got stuck with his car that drove till Nanpara Tehsil. According to the naib tehsildar, he was not aware of it. A recommendation has been made to suspend the naib tehsildar who was in the car."
