After McDonald's, Subway follows, takes tomatoes off its menu

In response to the skyrocketing price of tomato, fast-food restaurant franchise Subway has taken the 'prized' vegetable off its menu.

To address the challenges posed by the escalating prices and disruptions in the tomato supply chain due to quality concerns, Subway outlets have taken the decision to temporarily suspend the use of tomatoes in their sandwiches and salads.

A notable example of this initiative was observed at a Subway store located in a Delhi airport terminal.

The store prominently displayed a sign, politely informing the customers about the "Temporary Unavailability of TOMATOES".

The sign further clarified that the current unavailability stems from the difficulty in sourcing sufficient tomatoes that adhere to their stringent quality control standards.

A Subway employee at its Sector 16 outlet in Noida told IANS that the vendor is supplying a limited quantity of tomatoes, which has led to this crisis.

“The rates are high, and now the vendor, which supplies tomatoes and other veggies to the outlets in Delhi-NCR, is bringing tomatoes in limited quantity due to unavailability,” he said.

“We were serving dishes with tomatoes till late afternoon, but now the tomato stock has ended,” he said.

The employee further claimed that all stores in Delhi and its peripherals are going through a similar situation.

Earlier this month, McDonald's in Delhi had released a notice citing the unavailability of tomatoes in their products due to quality concerns during the tomato procurement process.

"Dear Customers, we are ever committed to serving you the best food with the best ingredients. Despite our best efforts, we are not able to get adequate quantities of tomatoes that pass our world-class stringent quality checks. Hence for the time being, we are forced to serve you products without tomatoes,” read the notice outside one of the McDonald’s outlets in Delhi.

“Rest assured; we are working to get the tomato supplies back. We value your patronage and regret the inconvenience caused," it added.