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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Explosion near CRPF School in Delhi caused by lit cigarette butts: Report
New Delhi: The investigation team that probed the explosion that took place outside the CRPF School in the Prashant Vihar area of the city on October 20 morning has reportedly not found any terror force behind the blast.
The investigation team, consisting of Delhi Police and staff members from central agencies, has stated in its report that cigarette butts thrown by a local resident might have come in contact with industrial waste and have caused the explosion. Circumstantial evidence does not show the incident to have a terror angle to it, reports The Indian Express.
The Delhi Police, the city bomb squad and the fire brigade had rushed to the spot following the explosion, which was initially believed to have been caused by a crude bomb. The forensic experts who inspected the spot hinted at the presence of potassium chlorate, hydrogen peroxide and some electrical wires there. The school wall had been damaged and the windows of a car nearby had shattered in the explosion.
The investigation team scanned the CCTV camera footage and zeroed in on around 10 people questioned. A senior police officer said that a North Delhi-based businessman from Prashant Vihar was found to be present at the spot around five minutes before the explosion, as he had come there on Sunday morning to walk his dog. The CCTV footage showed him smoking and, after questioning him, the team concluded that he had left lit cigarette butts before leaving the spot, the officer added.
The spot where the explosion took place is learned to have been usually used for dumping garbage and also has a public urinal.
An officer has said that the Delhi Police had consulted forensic and technical experts of the National Security Guard regarding the things found on the explosion site but are yet to get the report. The officer added that they have found no detonator so far.
