McDonald’s restaurants in North and East India have stopped serving tomatoes in its burgers and wraps over what the company claims are quality and supply issues as surging prices of the vegetable in parts of the country have triggered internet jokes, music videos, heists and protests.
The American fast-food giant’s Indian franchisee, Connaught Plaza Restaurants Ltd, put up notices across its stores on Friday saying it has not been able to get “adequate quantities of tomatoes which pass our stringent quality checks,” despite its “best efforts.”
The company added that “for the time being” it is being “forced” to serve products without tomatoes, without mentioning how long this issue will persist.
Several items on McDonald’s Indian menu—including its signature Maharaja Mac Chicken burger—include sliced tomatoes as an ingredient.
The issue only appears to be limited to McDonald’s restaurants in North and East India as the McDonald’s franchisee for the western and southern regions of the country remain unaffected by the shortage, Reuters reported.
McDonald’s India owns Connaught Plaza Restaurants which operates Mcdonald’s outlets in North and East India, while a third-party franchisee Westlife Foodworld operates McDonald’s restaurants in southern and western parts of the country.
