After McDonald's, Burger King removes tomatoes from food, says they 'need a vacation'

Burger King, one of the major fast-food chains, temporarily removed tomatoes from its burgers and wraps across multiple Indian outlets due to the recent surge in tomato prices after McDonald's took a similar step a few days ago.

"Even tomatoes need a vacation ... we are unable to add tomatoes to our food," reads the hilarious notice posted at two Burger King outlets in India.

Burger King has cited quality issues to explain missing tomatoes.

"Why are there no tomatoes in my burgers?" reads a question on the support page of Burger King India's website. The answer states its Indian franchisee follows "very high standards of quality,” and tomatoes will be back soon.

"We request your patience and understanding," it said.

Burger King, one of India's most prominent fast-food outlets with nearly 400 stores, joins McDonald's and Subway stores as they have also removed tomatoes from menus as India's food inflation this week hit its highest since January 2020.

The monsoon rains disrupted agricultural supply chains and coincided with the tomato supply problem, causing prices to rise by as much as 450% to record highs. However, the rains have now subsided, and the supply chain is recovering slowly.

Earlier, a McDonald’s India- North and East spokesperson said that the fast food chain is “constrained to serve tomatoes” in its menu items due to “seasonal issues” in procurement.

Even the US sandwich chain, Subway, cancelled the free cheese slices it has been offering for years and replaced them with cheese sauce to cut costs.

Meanwhile, Domino’s has tried bringing down prices for consumers struggling with inflation to as low as Rs 49 per pizza, which is the cheapest in the world, reported the news agency Reuters.

The surge in tomato prices led to a cheaper puree sales boom. "If the prices remain high, then eventually restaurants will have to take price increases. There is no other alternative," said Amnish Aggarwal, head of research at Prabhudas Lilladher.

To manage the supply crisis, India has started tomato imports from Nepal. It has organised vans to distribute the staple at cheaper rates nationwide, with social media posts showing huge queues and has started selling the staple vegetable at Rs 50-60 per kg.

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