The fast-food chain that has substituted McDonald’s in Russia has temporarily taken fries off the menu amid a shortage of the proper variety of potatoes.
As per the reports, “Vkusno i Tochka”, which roughly translates to ‘Tasty and that’s it’, added that in the past, it has focused on buying products from Russian suppliers, but in 2021 there was an insufficient harvest of the potato required to make fries. The company has informed that the problems may persist until fall. It is also said that “rustic potatoes” may also be unavailable in some branches.
The fast-food chain has made an explanation via the statement, that it normally gets potatoes from Russian suppliers, but it has not been likely to source the vegetable from abroad temporarily. It referred to the sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine, which prompted McDonald’s to pull out of the nation & sell it to Russian businessman Alexander Govor.
The reports further added, “Russia’s agriculture ministry downplayed concern about shortage of potato. In a Telegram statement titled “There are potatoes- and that’s it, the Russian market is fully supplied with potatoes, including processed ones. Additionally, crops from the new harvest are already arriving, which rules out the possibility of a shortage.”
At the same time, “Vkusno i Tochka” has been hit by a numerous problems since it opened last month after the departure of McDonald’s. Last week, several people on social media has posted images showing mouldy burgers and even insects coming out of some burgers. One of the persons has even shared a video which showed birds pecking at a stack of burger buns outside an outlet.
The posts had spurred the fast-food chain to issue a statement. The chain stated that the entire batch, in which the product of bad quality was found, has been discarded.
McDonald’s was among the several companies that deserted the country following the start of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.