Taco Bell 'Beef' Less than 35% Beef?

Alioth
Alioth Posts: 571 Member
edited September 23 in Food and Nutrition
I pulled this article off the Drudge Report this morning (originally from CBS). I don't know if this lawsuit will be successful or not since the charges haven't been proven, but I'm curious to know what's really going on inside my taco.

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/01/24/lawsuit-filed-in-california-court-over-taco-bell-beef/

"The lawsuit says that Taco Bell’s “seasoned beef” contains other ingredients, including water, wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, anti-dusting agent and modified corn starch."

The gist of the article is that a California resident and law firm are suing Taco Bell for mislabeling "meat mixture" as beef. Supposedly, they have tested the mixture and found it contains less than 35% beef.

What do you guys think? Is this something new, or have you heard this before? Who do you think will win the case?
«1

Replies

  • poisongirl6485
    poisongirl6485 Posts: 1,487 Member
    There's also silicon dioxide in it, too, I believe. Silicon dioxide is sand. Yummy.
  • monstertwelve
    monstertwelve Posts: 102
    dont know if its true but i read somewhere that eating dog food is better than eating taco bell's beef!!!!

    thats just down right gross!!!!:sick:
  • NikkisNewStart
    NikkisNewStart Posts: 1,075 Member
    Fast food 'meat' is a disgrace. I'm a high quality person and putting cheap food in my body is a disgrace. Everyone should feel this way. I doubt they will win the case though. It is all about the $ and no one, even our mighty government, is going to mess with the billion dollar fast food business. The government preaches healthy eating but let's face it... if everyone stopped eating that junk today the economy would suffer tremendously and the government would lose out on millions of tax revenue generated by the mass majority that eat this 'food.'

    It's all about the Benjamins!
  • ickybella
    ickybella Posts: 1,438 Member
    I read or heard somewhere that they also use grade D meat. I don't know if it's true, but I have to say, I still really like Taco Bell! I know it's gross, and if it helps, I'm living in the UK and there aren't any here, as far as I know (thank goodness). I don't like most fast food, but there is something about that naughty mystery meat deliciousness that I can't seem to refuse.
  • Luckymam
    Luckymam Posts: 300
    If you knew what went in most foods, you wouldn't eat it!
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,271 Member
    I love Drudge!

    First this doesnt suprise me and Ill bet this is the same for other fast food taco places. The less beef they use the more money they make. I guess whats hardest to grasp is that its so Low. That stuff in your taco is 65% something other than meat.
  • Alioth
    Alioth Posts: 571 Member
    Sand? Mmm? I've heard so many rumors about Taco Bell meat, some of them so outrageous, I figured most of them were urban legends. But if they prove something in court, I feel like I'll have to pay attention to it.

    locknessmonster>> I think most dog food is only 10% crude protein and mostly made of cornmeal mixed with soy products and other whatnot. That's even lower than 35%.

    ickbella>> Maybe it's the grease combined with the crunch factor? I don't eat Taco Bell's regular tacos. (I spring for the steak or chicken gorditas). But they always smell and sound awesome. Hard to resist.

    mcope>> Oh, another Drudge-head. :smile: Erm, yeah. 65% not-meat seems extreme. I would expect at least 75% meat.
  • time2move
    time2move Posts: 78 Member
    I refuse to eat Taco Bell's "beef". I get mexican pizzas, no meat.
  • oddyogi
    oddyogi Posts: 1,816 Member
    Ooooh nooooo! I was going to have Taco Bell as a cheat for this weekend :(
  • myukniewicz
    myukniewicz Posts: 906 Member
    yeah- i believe that there meat is probably not so much real meat...
    but to be honest, i freakin' love taco bell ha ha ha.
    i've eaten it for as long as i can remember and i haven't died yet.
    i haven't eaten it in since November 22 (the day i started my lifestyle change), but i totally will go get a crunch wrap supreme again one day. and i will love it LOL :D fake meat, or not
  • Nigel99
    Nigel99 Posts: 498 Member
    Well, that is just no good at all.
    I used to eat Taco Bell a couple of times a week when I traveled for a living and spent a lot of my time going through airports, but haven't had it in years. I guess I haven't really missed the anti-dusting agent all that much.
  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
    I only eat at taco bell every 4-5 years and always as a last resort to everywhere else and that was before I knew this. I'm just nota taco fan in general, I guess if I never eat there again I won't be missing much.
  • Warmbloodwear
    Warmbloodwear Posts: 387 Member
    I just saw this on the news 10 mins ago!!! UNREAL!!! Im so glad I have changed my wicked ways...
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    dont know if its true but i read somewhere that eating dog food is better than eating taco bell's beef!!!!

    thats just down right gross!!!!:sick:

    Depends on the food. Most of the stuff my dog gets has way better ingredients than the stuff I eat. :laugh: Merrick's brand has great ingredients.
  • 6Janelle13
    6Janelle13 Posts: 353 Member
    Honestly I accept that fast food and eating out in general is horrible in every way. That fact that folks are surprised by the law suit amuzes me because honestly you are paying a buck for a whole taco... hummmm.......It tatses great if i don't think about it :)
  • california_peach
    california_peach Posts: 1,809 Member
    What I find shocking is there is ANY meat in a taco bell taco. LOL.
  • RoadDog
    RoadDog Posts: 2,946 Member
    Here's what Taco Bell says about sand in their meat, on their website.


    This is completely false. The truth is that what has been referred to as "sand" is in fact silicon dioxide. Silicon dioxide:

    is a safe, common food ingredient often used in spices, seasonings, and many restaurant and packaged foods;
    is primarily used in food to prevent ingredients from sticking together;
    Is a naturally occurring mineral, often found in water, leafy green and root vegetables, cooked dried beans, whole grains, cereals, and fruits;
    Can be found in many kitchen pantries across America, often in mashed potato and rice mixes, coffee, soups, and many spices and seasonings;
    Is approved for use in food by the Food and Drug Administration here;
    Like many in the food business, we use silicon dioxide in the seasonings and spices for our taco meat. When cooked, our beef contains about .0005% (that is, five ten-thousands of one percent) of this ingredient, far less than the FDA limit of 2%. Furthermore, we use certified organic silicon dioxide. It is not artificial and is not a preservative.
  • RoadDog
    RoadDog Posts: 2,946 Member
    Taco Bell doesn't use beef in their "beef"-based pseudo-Mexican delicacies. They use a gross thing called "Taco Meat Filling" as shown on their big container's labels—which customers can't see. The list of ingredients is gruesome:

    Water, isolated oat product, salt, chili pepper, onion powder, tomato powder, oats (wheat), soy lecithin, sugar, spices, maltodextrin (a polysaccharide that is absorbed as glucose), soybean oil (anti-dusting agent), garlic powder, autolyzed yeast extract, citric acid, caramel color, cocoa powder, silicon dioxide (anti-caking agent), natural flavors, yeast, modified corn starch, natural smoke flavor, salt, sodium phosphate, less than 2% of beef broth, potassium phosphate, and potassium lactate.

    Oh, and 36% beef. Thirty-six percent—plus all the above making up for the other 64% of the party in your mouth.

    According to the USDA, you can't call this "beef" at all. Beef is defined as "flesh of cattle". Ground beef is defined as:

    Chopped fresh and/or frozen beef with or without seasoning and without the addition of beef fat as such, shall not contain more than 30 percent fat, and shall not contain added water, phosphates, binders, or extenders.

    Which is certainly nothing like what Taco Bell is using in their products. That's the reason why an Alabama law firm is presenting a lawsuit for false advertising, claiming that what Taco Bell claims is "beef" in their commercials is just the aforementioned processed clustermass of disgust. I'm not a lawyer, but it seems they have a very good point.

    The fact is that the containers in which the taco mud arrives to their establishments is labeled as "taco meat filling," which is exactly how it should be labeled in all advertising and packaging according to the USDA. Of course, new Double Decker with Two Time More Taco Meat Filling doesn't sound very good.

    The irony is that not even if Taco Bell used Taco Meat Filling in their packaging and ads they would be right: The USDA says that any food labeled as "meat taco filling" should at least have 40% fresh meat. According to the Alabama law firm, their stuff only has 36% meat. Perhaps they should call it Almost Taco Meat Filling.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
    dont know if its true but i read somewhere that eating dog food is better than eating taco bell's beef!!!!

    thats just down right gross!!!!:sick:

    Depends on the food. Most of the stuff my dog gets has way better ingredients than the stuff I eat. :laugh: Merrick's brand has great ingredients.

    My dogs too. They eat some dry kibble (Taste of the Wild, which uses REAL meat and filtered water). They also get raw chicken or beef everyday too as they are on a partially raw diet.

    My dogs only get dry kibble that is of human grade food quality and I make their treats out of oats, peanut butter, apples and bananas............
  • Alioth
    Alioth Posts: 571 Member
    That's interesting, RoadDog. Maybe they should say "beef flavored" tacos instead of "beef tacos"?
  • MoonlightMerlot
    MoonlightMerlot Posts: 21 Member
    Taco Bell doesn't use beef in their "beef"-based pseudo-Mexican delicacies. They use a gross thing called "Taco Meat Filling" as shown on their big container's labels—which customers can't see. The list of ingredients is gruesome:

    Water, isolated oat product, salt, chili pepper, onion powder, tomato powder, oats (wheat), soy lecithin, sugar, spices, maltodextrin (a polysaccharide that is absorbed as glucose), soybean oil (anti-dusting agent), garlic powder, autolyzed yeast extract, citric acid, caramel color, cocoa powder, silicon dioxide (anti-caking agent), natural flavors, yeast, modified corn starch, natural smoke flavor, salt, sodium phosphate, less than 2% of beef broth, potassium phosphate, and potassium lactate.

    Oh, and 36% beef. Thirty-six percent—plus all the above making up for the other 64% of the party in your mouth.

    According to the USDA, you can't call this "beef" at all.

    Wow. Well, I agree that Taco Bell should not be passing off their "Taco Meat Filling" as beef! But processed oats and powdered taco seasoning aren't that bad, are they?
  • RoadDog
    RoadDog Posts: 2,946 Member

    Wow. Well, I agree that Taco Bell should not be passing off their "Taco Meat Filling" as beef! But processed oats and powdered taco seasoning aren't that bad, are they?

    No they're not, but....a friend of mine used to work at Del Taco. They would prepare a huge pot of ground beef. Of course the grease all floats to the top. Instead of draining it, that's when they would add oats to the mixture. It absorbed all the grease and added to the quantity. I am assuming something similar is going on at Taco Bell.
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    dont know if its true but i read somewhere that eating dog food is better than eating taco bell's beef!!!!

    thats just down right gross!!!!:sick:

    where is the throw up smiley? :sick:
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    It's funny. This week I was craving Taco Bell. I have been sick and not craving any type of food for a month, so I decided to go for it and get some ( I call it Taco Smell :laugh:)

    Anyway. As I drove home with the food, instead of that mouth watering reaction I have had in the past I felt a bit nausaus (sp). I thought, "Oh that is because you have been sick!"

    When I got home and opened it a crunched into the first one and this reddish goop fell out the other side. What is that? I remembered the taco meat being brown with meat in it. Instead it is now a reddish color and I didnt see much of anything that resembled meat. So I ended up eating one with 'meat' and 2 with out. I just cracked the bottom and threw it in the garbage. The crunch of the taco, cheese, lettuce, tomato and sour cream was what I apparently was craving anyway!

    I wonder if you can order a taco, no meat?? :huh:

    P.S. I had a bad experience with McDs and have never eaten another burger from there. Now TB is off my list. Before you know it I will be eating clean and yummy foods only!! Well...........except for Wendy's :laugh:
  • MoonlightMerlot
    MoonlightMerlot Posts: 21 Member

    Wow. Well, I agree that Taco Bell should not be passing off their "Taco Meat Filling" as beef! But processed oats and powdered taco seasoning aren't that bad, are they?

    No they're not, but....a friend of mine used to work at Del Taco. They would prepare a huge pot of ground beef. Of course the grease all floats to the top. Instead of draining it, that's when they would add oats to the mixture. It absorbed all the grease and added to the quantity. I am assuming something similar is going on at Taco Bell.

    Ewww! I hadn't thought of that. :frown:
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member

    Wow. Well, I agree that Taco Bell should not be passing off their "Taco Meat Filling" as beef! But processed oats and powdered taco seasoning aren't that bad, are they?

    No they're not, but....a friend of mine used to work at Del Taco. They would prepare a huge pot of ground beef. Of course the grease all floats to the top. Instead of draining it, that's when they would add oats to the mixture. It absorbed all the grease and added to the quantity. I am assuming something similar is going on at Taco Bell.

    I have a friend who is Mexican and she makes the best tacos in the WORLD. She takes beef and grinds it in her food processor, fries it up and then adds all the ingreds (we aren't allowed to know her recipe) to the beef with all the fat in the pot. I want one now.............dangit
  • RoadDog
    RoadDog Posts: 2,946 Member
    Personally, I rarely eat there. As far as I'm concerned the food is fine. It's just much less expensive to make my own Mexican food and I like to cook so I make Mexican cuisine in my own home. I ate a lot of Taco Bell when I was younger.

    I don't even see anything wrong with the fact that their Taco Filling is only 36% Beef "products".

    But....I do believe that they should follow whatever food industry standard applies and disclose the ingredients if that is the rule. And....if a product must be a certain percentage of beef to be called "beef" then either bring it up to that standard or drop the label.
  • Alioth
    Alioth Posts: 571 Member
    Heh heh heh. Agreed. This makes me want to make tacos NOW! But I'm gonna hafta wait until the beginning of next month to do it.

    Last night around midnight I had to drive my housemate to a bus stop. The urge to get a fast-food snack hit me hard. But there was nothing open but Taco Bell's drive-through window! It was not appetizing.
  • Gennawest
    Gennawest Posts: 171
    Haha- I totally agree. Taco Bell is great- and one day we shall meet again... but not anytime soon. Sorry Taco Bell.
  • chrish1981
    chrish1981 Posts: 156

    I wonder if you can order a taco, no meat?? :huh:

    During my 3 month stint as a vegetarian, I used to replace the meat in their tacos with beans. Delicious....IF you like beans.

    I'm with what someone else said: if we knew HALF of what was in our food (even the supposed "good" stuff), we wouldn't want to eat it.

    <
    used to work at a restaurant. 'Nuff said.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories