The Tomato Trick By Fast Food Chains
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
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By Linus Garg
First publised on 2023-07-24 02:44:11
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
Tomatoes are once again in the news and not because of their high prices. This time, led by Mc Donalds, several fast-food chains have decided to take tomatoes off their menu due to (according to Mc Donalds) unavailability of quality tomatoes "due to seasonal crop issues". Following its decision, several other outlets have also stopped using tomatoes.
Is it actually due to unavailability of quality tomatoes or is it due to the high prices? For, tomatoes are available in plenty. The quality is also good. It is not as if Mc Donalds and the others were using special tomatoes till now. In fact, one would often find the tomato slice/s in burgers to be of normal quality as generally available in the market. So what are these outlets now talking about?
It has become a trick for food outlets to deprive small (and to some, big) pleasures to foodies. Take for instance the fact that almost all up market dhabas in Indian cities have stopped providing complimentary onions to patrons, when it is well known that raw onions are a must with dhaba food. It probably happened when onions prices had skyrocketed but with the prices now ruling at Rs 25-30 per kg, there is no excuse for the dhabas to deny this to patrons. But having tasted extra profits by serving exorbitantly priced onion salads to patrons, the dhabas are not willing to provide complimentary onions, not even when specifically asked for.
It seems that tomatoes will also have a similar journey going forward. From now on, instead of being the part of a burger or a sandwich, a tomato slice will be an add-on (at extra cost, of course) like cheese and other toppings. The person at the counter will ask you at the time of taking the order whether you will go for tomato slices in your burger or sandwich at an extra cost. This is likely to happen even when the so-called 'seasonal crop issues' are solved and prices return to normal.
