McDonald's India puts tomato off the menu as price soars

New Delhi: 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.