It looks like the soaring prices of tomatoes across the country have not only affected the public, but even fast-food giants like McDonald's. In several locations across India, the company has announced that it won't be including tomatoes in its burgers and wraps temporarily.
McDonald's expressed its inability to 'source tomatoes that meet their rigorous quality checks' and cited 'seasonal issues' as the major cause. However, they mentioned that this is only temporary, and they will soon resume their usual menu.
In a notification posted in its New Delhi and Noida branches, the company stated, "Despite our best efforts, we are not able to get adequate quantities of tomatoes which pass our stringent quality checks, As a brand committed to the highest standards of food quality and safety, we use ingredients only after rigorous food quality and safety checks. However, due to seasonal issues and despite our best efforts, we are not able to procure tomatoes that pass our world-class, stringent quality checks. Hence, we are constrained to serve tomatoes in our menu items at some of our restaurants. This is a temporary issue and we would like to reassure our customers that we are looking at all possible ways to bring back tomatoes to our menu very soon."
In the past few days, tomato prices have gone up to Rs 160 per kg across major cities such as Mumbai and Kolkata. Reports also suggest that in some areas of Uttarakhand, tomatoes are being sold at an alarming price of Rs 250 per kg, reflecting the severity of the situation.
(With inputs from India Today)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)