A California woman has filed a class-action lawsuit. claiming that Taco Bell uses so much other ingredients in its meat that it can no longer be called beef.
Taco Bell, shot back that the suit is "absolutely wrong" and that it planned legal action of its own.
So, the question becomes, how much stuff can be mixed in with the beef and still be recognized as beef?
The US Department of Agriculture says in its raw or frozen form, ground beef "shall not contain more than 30 percent fat, and shall not contain added water, phosphates, binders, or extenders," The seasonings are of no consequence one way or the other.
Taco Bell says, that's exactly the way they do it.
"We start with 100 percent USDA-inspected beef," the company says in its statement. "Then we simmer it in our proprietary blend of seasonings and spices to give our seasoned beef its signature Taco Bell taste and texture."
It's that texture part where the legal debate begins.
The lawsuit states,"In reality, a substantial majority of the filling is comprised of substances other than beef."
And what about the seasonings in question?
"Those ingredients are not added for flavor, but rather to increase the volume of the product," the suit claims. "These ingredients are binders and extenders such as 'isolated oat product.' "
Things get a bit suspect when supposedly a Taco Bell label on a meat container reads: "Taco Meat Filling," not beef.
Taco meat filling, according to the USDA's Food Standards and Labeling Policy Book, must contain at least 40 percent fresh meat, says Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, the Montgomery, Ala., law firm that filed the suit. The one plaintiff named in the class-action suit, Amanda Obney of California, is not asking for monetary damages, but wants Taco Bell to stop advertising its meat filling as beef.
Taco Bell, refuses to back down down from the allegations.
"We are proud of the quality of our beef and identify all the seasoning and spice ingredients on our website," the company said in its statement "Unfortunately, the lawyers in this case elected to sue first and ask questions later – and got their "facts" absolutely wrong. We plan to take legal action for the false statements being made about our food."Here's the updated statement by Greg Creed, President and CCO,Taco Bell Corp. (photo left)
"The lawsuit is bogus and filled with completely inaccurate facts. Our beef is 100% USDA inspected, just like the quality beef you would buy in a supermarket and prepare in your home. It then is slow-cooked and simmered with proprietary seasonings and spices to provide Taco Bell's signature taste and texture. Our seasoned beef recipe contains 88% quality USDA-inspected beef and 12% seasonings, spices, water and other ingredients that provide taste, texture and moisture. The lawyers got their facts wrong. We take this attack on our quality very seriously and plan to take legal action against them for making false statements about our products. There is no basis in fact or reality for this suit and we will vigorously defend the quality of our products from frivolous and misleading claims such as this."
What is in Taco Bell's recipe for seasoned beef?
"We're cooking with a proprietary recipe to give our seasoned beef flavor and texture, just like you would with any recipe you cook at home.
For example, when you make chili, meatloaf or meatballs, you add your own recipe of seasoning and spices to give the beef flavor and texture, otherwise, it would taste just like unseasoned ground beef. We do the same thing with our recipe for seasoned beef.
Our recipe for seasoned beef includes ingredients you'd find in your home or in the supermarket aisle today:
• 88% USDA-inspected quality beef
• 3-5% water for moisture
• 3-5% spices (including salt, chili pepper, onion powder, tomato powder, sugar, garlic powder, cocoa powder and a proprietary blend of Mexican spices and natural flavors).
• 3-5% oats, starch, sugar, yeast, citric acid, and other ingredients that contribute to the quality of our product.
Our seasoned beef contains no "extenders" to add volume, as some might use. For more information about our ingredients go to http://www.tacobell.com."
Greg Creed
President and Chief Concept Officer
Taco Bell Corp.
We'll keep you posted as this continues...
