Taco Bell's "beef" only 36% meat

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Attorneys question whether what Taco Bell calls ‘beef’ is actually beef

The late-night crowd knows all too well the allure of Taco Bell's piping-hot creations. But is it really ground beef they're putting on that beef meximelt?

That's the question at the heart of a lawsuit filed recently by the Montgomery, Alabama-based law firm Beasley Allen.

The standard for what constitutes beef as defined by the USDA is pretty straightforward: "flesh of animals." In the "Food Facts" section of its website, Taco Bell says the following about its beef: "Our taco meat is made from USDA-inspected beef and is subjected to quality check points. It tastes great because it's simmered in 12 authentic seasonings and spices and is never frozen. Moreover, our taco meat is leaner than what you'll find in a restaurant-cooked hamburger because of the unique way that we prepare our taco meat and remove fat." But Beasley Allen contends that the company's claims are untrue.

"Rather than beef, these food items are actually made with a substance known as 'taco meat filling,' " the lawsuit says. The firm contends that that Taco Bell shouldn't market the taco meat filling in question as beef because their testing shows that it only contains 36 percent ground beef. If that's true, Taco Bell's meat filling product would fall below the already generous USDA standard for it to qualify as meat -- the present standard demands it consist of at least 40 percent meat. This inspired Gizmodo's Jesus Diaz to crack, "Perhaps they should call it 'Almost Taco Meat Filling.'"

The remainder of the Taco Bell's meat filling product consists of "extenders" like water, "Isolated Oat Product," wheat oats, maltodrextrin, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, anti-dusting agent, autolyzed yeast extract, modified corn starch, sodium phosphate and silicon dioxide.

Taco Bell actually addresses its use if silicon dioxide in the "Food Facts" section of its website under the question, "I heard a rumor that there's sand in your taco meat?" It then goes on to explain that silicone dioxide is "a safe, common food ingredient" that's "primarily used in food to prevent ingredients from sticking together."

Taco Bell has issued a statement insisting that the suit is unfounded: "Taco Bell prides itself on serving high quality Mexican inspired food with great value. We're happy that the millions of customers we serve every week agree. We deny our advertising is misleading in any way and we intend to vigorously defend the suit."

In any event, the lawsuit's appetite-squelching accusations are likely to provide plenty of unadulterated fodder for late night comedians. "Late Show with David Letterman" head writer Eric Stangel was already making Taco Bell jokes on his Twitter page this morning, cracking that because of the lawsuit we're all finally "about to find out where the Taco Bell Chihuahua went.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110125/ts_yblog_thelookout/attorneys-question-whether-what-taco-bell-calls-beef-is-actually-beef

[gorillafuck]

What the hell else is in it?:confused:

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Did you read it?

"The remainder of the Taco Bell's meat filling product consists of 'extenders' like water, 'Isolated Oat Product,' wheat oats, maltodrextrin, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, anti-dusting agent, autolyzed yeast extract, modified corn starch, sodium phosphate and silicon dioxide."

[Jazzratt]

I found some pork product sausages (I can't remember the precise name of it but it was something on those lines) that proudly announced it was now only 60-odd% water. Thing is that getting meat which is just meat is much more expensive than this kind of crap; an admittedly prosaic measure of how much capitalism sucks but a measure nonetheless.

In the case of sausages though a certain amount of "padding" is expected. Tacos not so much.

Also if they could knock a handful of percentages off that they might be able to sell it to vegetarians :lol:

[Tablo]

I will still eat it. Don't care if it is horseshit in a wrap as long as I enjoy it.

[the last donut of the night]

I will still eat it. Don't care if it is horseshit in a wrap as long as I enjoy it.

i disagree. taco bell food tastes like greasy shit wrapped in doughy bread. i prefer burger king for my munchie adventures

[gorillafuck]

I eat bean burritos from Taco Bell.

[Bright Banana Beard]

I still going to eat at taco bell.

[Tablo]

i disagree. taco bell food tastes like greasy shit wrapped in doughy bread. i prefer burger king for my munchie adventures
That's why I eat it.

[Red Commissar]

high quality Mexican inspired food :rolleyes:

[Quail]

We don't have Taco Bell in the UK, but what do you expect from a fast food chain?

[ed miliband]

There's a Chipotle in central London though.

[piet11111]

We don't have Taco Bell in the UK, but what do you expect from a fast food chain?

Explosive diarrhea ?

[Magón]

Good thing I don't eat at that place. I prefer the authentic mexi places, to the capitalists-want-to-make-a-buck-off-mexican-stuff-food chains.

[Political_Chucky]

high quality Mexican inspired food :rolleyes:

As a Mexican, I take offense to that!

haha no but seriously, mexican food is much much better then taco shit. And wtf is Anti-Dusting agent?

[Blackscare]

I eat bean burritos from Taco Bell.

Bean paste is the worst thing you could possibly eat there. I used to work at taco bell. And yea, the packages that the "beef" comes in in the back doesn't even say beef, it says meat filling. :(

[Blackscare]

Actually the rice is the nastiest, btw.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

Did you read it?

"The remainder of the Taco Bell's meat filling product consists of 'extenders' like water, 'Isolated Oat Product,' wheat oats, maltodrextrin, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, anti-dusting agent, autolyzed yeast extract, modified corn starch, sodium phosphate and silicon dioxide."

Maltodextrin! So good they added it twice!

It's a polysaccharide or complex carbohydrate, and less scary than it sounds. I'd be more afraid of the saturated fat.

Mind you, my experience with Mexican-style food is limited to the stuff my mum would cook, and she would use actual beef mince, of course.

[Political_Chucky]

http://www.sunnydayproducts.com/images/mexican.jpghttp://www.mexicovacationtravels.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/carne-asada-tacos.jpg


That is real mexican food. Taco Bell cannot top that, trust.

[Sam_b]

Thanks, i'd never seen Mexican food before.

[Os Cangaceiros]

I'm not concerned, as I very rarely go to Taco Bell. I actually probably wouldn't even be concerned if I went there often.

If I get fast food, it's usually at some sort of sandwhich place or a non-KFC fried chicken restaraunt. Chicken with enough grease to lubricate heavy machinery.

[Quail]

The only Mexican food I know how to make is chilli (either with beans or soy mince) and refried beans. I suppose I could make a burrito with the beans at a push.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

Thanks, i'd never seen Mexican food before.

Just wait till you eat some, it's delish.

[Os Cangaceiros]

I live pretty close to the source of Mexican food, seeing as how I live in Texas and all. Throw a rock in this town and you'll hit a Mexican restaurant.

[bcbm]

wait, there were people who thought the shit in taco bell was actually meat?:confused:

[L.A.P.]

ever since I became a Marxist I stopped eating fast food because I'd feel like a hypocrite and I think I made the right choice.

[Political_Chucky]

why would you feel like a hypocrite?

[Os Cangaceiros]

Cuz Marxists are opposed to exploitation at the worksite, which totally doesn't exist at non-fast food restaurants or anything.

[Quail]

Cuz Marxists are opposed to exploitation at the worksite, which totally doesn't exist at non-fast food restaurants or anything.
I misread that and was about to go into rant-mode, but I reread it before I started typing :lol:

Personally I used to avoid fast food when I was younger because it tastes like crap and used to give me really bad stomachache. Now I avoid it because I don't think any of the main chains have any vegetarian options, other than Burger King.

[Catmatic Leftist]

Haha, to be honest, I did a double take on that post as well. I dislike fast food and I don't mind making food myself but sometimes it's too damn convenient to pass up.

[Wanted Man]

ever since I became a Marxist I stopped eating fast food because I'd feel like a hypocrite and I think I made the right choice.

Man, this forum is just full of people that make you want to put your fingers in your ears and go, "Oh for the love of god, shut the fuck up!"

[Tablo]

Man, this forum is just full of people that make you want to put your fingers in your ears and go, "Oh for the love of god, shut the fuck up!"
I know right? I feel like there may be Marxist lifestylism coming into creation. If it isn't already around.

[Magón]

The only Mexican food I know how to make is chilli (either with beans or soy mince) and refried beans. I suppose I could make a burrito with the beans at a push.

That is so fucking racist! "Mexican food"= Chilli. Give me a break, just because you saw some Mexican bandito's on some sterotypical, racist American Western eating them, doesn't make them necessarily a Mexican food! Chilli goes farther than being "Mexican".


*Sarcastic misreading rant over.* :D

We're still koo, Kayl. :thumbup1:

[Os Cangaceiros]

Yeah, chili is more texmex.

[Robocommie]

This is why I eat at the Red Burrito right next door to the Taco Bell. It may not actually be better, but it sure as hell tastes and LOOKS better.

I think it's funny though, Taco Bell claiming to be high quality. They know their food is mass produced garbage and they know their customers know it. Nobody goes there expecting quality. :lol:

[GPDP]

Taco Bell is alright - as long as you go in knowing it's not Mexican food. It's American fast food slop that looks a little like Mexican food. It's akin to a white guy putting on a sombrero and a zarape - he's dressed like a (stereotypical) Mexican, but he's not fooling anyone.

That said, I do eat there from time to time, mostly because their $5 box deals are almost unbeatable in terms of bang for your buck for fast food. However, it does tend to give me the shits sometimes, so that's not fun. And if I wanna eat real Mexican food, well, I live half an hour away from fucking Mexico, so naturally every other restaurant here is Mexican, and there's taquerias everywhere. Though few of them compare to an authentic Mexican streetside taqueria. God, if there's one thing I miss about Mexico, it's the tacos.

[Robocommie]

And if I wanna eat real Mexican food, well, I live half an hour away from fucking Mexico, so naturally every other restaurant here is Mexican, and there's taquerias everywhere. Though few of them compare to an authentic Mexican streetside taqueria. God, if there's one thing I miss about Mexico, it's the tacos.

Yeah, I have a friend from New Mexico who is often raving about the art form that is tacos.

[Lobotomy]

Bean paste is the worst thing you could possibly eat there. I used to work at taco bell.

Why is it the worst?

[Vendetta]

Why did this surprise anybody?

[L.A.P.]

Cuz Marxists are opposed to exploitation at the worksite, which totally doesn't exist at non-fast food restaurants or anything.

But at least there is some sort of more effort into making the food instead of going completely synthetic in order to increase corporate profits. It's more of a Liberal thing.


Man, this forum is just full of people that make you want to put your fingers in your ears and go, "Oh for the love of god, shut the fuck up!"

Blow it out your ass.

[Pirate Utopian]

Why are some people trashtalking fastfood as a whole. It's tasty, it's cheap and well... fast.
I dont care about shady shit or whatever, fastfood is awesome.

[Os Cangaceiros]

I like fast-food too.

[synthesis]

Popeye's FTW

[Robocommie]

Blow it out your ass.

If he eats at Taco Bell, he will!

[Rusty Shackleford]

Did you read it?

"The remainder of the Taco Bell's meat filling product consists of 'extenders' like water, 'Isolated Oat Product,' wheat oats, maltodrextrin, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, anti-dusting agent, autolyzed yeast extract, modified corn starch, sodium phosphate and silicon dioxide."
i was honestly afraid that it was going to be something like unwashed horse sphincter or something.

now that my fear has been allayed, i can enjoy my cheap-o tacos.

[synthesis]

i was honestly afraid that it was going to be something like unwashed horse sphincter or something.

now that my fear has been allayed, i can enjoy my cheap-o tacos.

For real, it's not like that stuff in New York where there are literally regulations that dictate what percentage of street-vendor hot dogs can be composed of rat shit and such.

[Political_Chucky]

Mmmmm good o'l rat shit.

[kalu]

Mexican inspired

OK, that's like, totally racist.:laugh: Relating Taco Bell to Mexican cuisine is blasphemous.

[NoOneIsIllegal]

Popeye's FTW
You are a god among men. Popeye's is the only fast food that I can eat frequently. Fan-fucking-tastic!


Might as well comment on other places:
- McDonald's burgers don't even taste like beef. Their McChickens also taste like nasty fish.
- KFC. Don't eat there. Ever. If you choose to, don't eat the coleslaw. Ever.
- Burger King: it's like McDonald's but actually good.
- Wendy's: wut?
- Arby's: Bourgeois fastfood, but damn they make good curly fries.
- Runza: the best thing ever, too bad you've probably never had it! SUCKERS! They're starting to expand though...

[Rusty Shackleford]

Carls Junior - The only thing shey should sell is the Six dollar western bacon cheese burger.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2618/3940888650_6a6d52c719.jpg


god damn i feel bourgeois when i eat there.

and thats not ketchup, thats barbecue sauce.

[Political_Chucky]

Carls Junior - The only thing shey should sell is the Six dollar western bacon cheese burger.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2618/3940888650_6a6d52c719.jpg


god damn i feel bourgeois when i eat there.

and thats not ketchup, thats barbecue sauce.

Good food, good meat. Good god lets eat.

[Comrade Wolfie's Very Nearly Banned Adventures]

What is a 'Mexico' and where do I get one?

[graymouser]

- Burger King: it's like McDonald's but actually good.
I worked at a Burger King in high school, a lot of the time leading up to closing. I always hear fast food horror stories from people but the whole time I worked in fast food we were actually reasonably clean, kept to code in terms of turning over product that was past its prime, and served mostly sanitary - if greasy - food. The burgers went through a machine that cooked them to exactly whatever temperature they wanted, although that thing was a motherfucker to get clean every night. It was sort of like working in a food factory, honestly.

As for the quality? I don't eat there any more, mostly because the burgers are too greasy for me. I do eat at Wawa, a local convenience store that I used to work at, because they're serious about being clean and their food's not bad. Although pretty much all this shit has way more sodium than a human being should EVER consume. That's pretty much fast food for you though.

[Stand Your Ground]

Haha. So glad I don't eat that crap.

[Amphictyonis]

y_oem9BqUTI

[Martin Blank]

Taco Bell is alright - as long as you go in knowing it's not Mexican food. It's American fast food slop that looks a little like Mexican food. It's akin to a white guy putting on a sombrero and a zarape - he's dressed like a (stereotypical) Mexican, but he's not fooling anyone.

Well, that's like most restaurants that sell "foreign" cuisine in the U.S. -- Chinese, Italian, "Mediterranean", etc. It's either "Americanized" or "inspired". The only places you can find something close to authentic are in immigrant communities (and the south, for Mexican food). The one thing I really liked about living in Detroit was that there were large immigrant communities where you could find decent Mexican/Latin American, Middle Eastern, Greek, Jewish, Russian, Ukrainian and Polish food.


That said, I do eat there from time to time, mostly because their $5 box deals are almost unbeatable in terms of bang for your buck for fast food. However, it does tend to give me the shits sometimes, so that's not fun. And if I wanna eat real Mexican food, well, I live half an hour away from fucking Mexico, so naturally every other restaurant here is Mexican, and there's taquerias everywhere. Though few of them compare to an authentic Mexican streetside taqueria. God, if there's one thing I miss about Mexico, it's the tacos.

I haven't had a full meal from Taco Bell in years. The last thing I got from there was a Cantina Taco (the one with the lime), just to see how they compared to what I normally got from the taco truck. Verdict: more expensive, less content, tastes like crap.

When it comes to fast food, about the only place I can handle is Rally's/Checker's. They had a really tasty meatloaf burger on a sourdough bun.

[southernmissfan]

Fast food might be convenient and cheap (though to some extent that's arguable), it really is so shitty for you. I'm really trying to stay away from it.

Though in America it sometimes seems like it is harder to eat natural and healthy than it is to eat shit.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Though in America it sometimes seems like it is harder to eat natural and healthy than it is to eat shit.

It is harder. There's really no doubt about that.

[Quail]

^ That really sucks. It's really easy to eat healthy food in the UK.

[Political_Chucky]

If anyone wants some real pure mexican beef, I'm right here.

[Tablo]

If anyone wants some real pure mexican beef, I'm right here.
I want to say something awkward and inappropriate, but I will resist the urge. ;)

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

yeah taco bell is gross
almost as disgusting as you self indulgent bourgie food snobs fuck the lot of ye

[FreeFocus]

Not surprising. Fast food is horse shit, even if it often tastes good.

[Tablo]

yeah taco bell is gross
almost as disgusting as you self indulgent bourgie food snobs fuck the lot of ye
You fit in well here.

[Political_Chucky]

I want to say something awkward and inappropriate, but I will resist the urge. ;)

Lmao I don't think you CAN resist:rolleyes:

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

^ That really sucks. It's really easy to eat healthy food in the UK.

It depends how you define "healthy". If you mean the sort of stuff one can buy from any supermarket if one has any cooking skill, then yeah. If you mean the swanky rabbit food one gets from overpriced health food/wholefood shops, then no.

Does home-cooked spaghetti bolognese, chilli con carne and curry count as "healthy"?

As far as I'm concerned, this is the only food pyramid worthy of consideration:

http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/1530/myfoodpyramid.png

[Red Commissar]

The rest of the meat I presume is made from that old Taco Bell mascot

M8sZ1DWsAHE

"Yo Quiero Taco Bell" ~ last words of the Taco Bell Chihuahua

[Political_Chucky]

lmao I almost forgot about the Chihuahua!

LONtNt9at_k

[Magón]

Sadly, that dog is probably the most Mexican thing Taco Bell's ever done. :laugh:

[Quail]

It depends how you define "healthy". If you mean the sort of stuff one can buy from any supermarket if one has any cooking skill, then yeah. If you mean the swanky rabbit food one gets from overpriced health food/wholefood shops, then no.
I don't know exactly what is meant by "swanky rabbit food" but some stuff is pretty cheap in health food shops. I buy dried rice, pulses and soy mince from the health food shop nearby and they're pretty cheap.


Does home-cooked spaghetti bolognese, chilli con carne and curry count as "healthy"?

I don't see why it wouldn't, although there's not a lot of veg in it.

I get all my veg from a little grocery shop because it's so much cheaper than the supermarket and loads better. Eating vegetables and fresh food isn't really expensive. My weekly shopping probably costs me about £30 but that feeds 2 people and a baby.

[Robocommie]

What is a 'Mexico' and where do I get one?

Step 1: Become an American industrialist.

Now you're done.

[The Red Next Door]

My uncle, sister, and i went to sonic, after we come back and sat down. we open the package and the burger was messy and my sister said she hope the ***** ( the person who made our burger)get ran over by a car and she should throw it at her. I told them both to stop complaning, they were saying the ***** was probably partying all night. My uncle gave me a lecture on when you paid for something you should expect quality and my sister said as a communist, i should not tolerant this. wtf. It fast food, don't expect quality. Shit.

[Red Commissar]

I wish my adventures to the fast food joint were as interesting as that. I usually just eat and feel like crap afterwards.

[Political_Chucky]

Last time I went to taco bell, I told my friend to order me some "Suacy Lauceys" :laugh: He was there for like 3 mins asking for 3 saucy lauceys lmao

[Angry Young Man]

http://www.sunnydayproducts.com/images/mexican.jpghttp://www.mexicovacationtravels.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/carne-asada-tacos.jpg


That is real mexican food. Taco Bell cannot top that, trust.

Marry me.

ED: Get the person who cooked those to do the catering.

[Princess Luna]

well it could be worse , i was never the same when i found out what hot dogs were made out of :crying:

[Toppler]

This is why food quality norms in the CSSR were superior.

By the way, they've adopted the same norms as in the CSSR in Venezuela.

So food in Venezuela still tastes as good as under these "evil commies".

[Red Bayonet]

Come the revolution, we must make sure that all ground beast is made up of 80% bourgeoisie, and 20% petit bourgeoisie!

[praxis1966]

We don't have Taco Bell in the UK...

Yes you do. http://www.tacobelluk.co.uk/

And for the record, I used to live in Texas (right near Explosive Situation's hood) and I can say without exception that at best, the Mexican food in the US served outside of Texas, New Mexico, and SoCal is just ok. You'll never convince me otherwise, lulz...

[Quail]

Yes you do. http://www.tacobelluk.co.uk/

Fair enough. I've never seen one, although I haven't actively looked.

[Red Bayonet]

I call for more bourgeoisie in hamburgers everywhere! (EAT THE RICH!)

[praxis1966]

Fair enough. I've never seen one, although I haven't actively looked.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should say there's only the one so far... In a shopping center in Essex. On the other hand, those fucking joints are like cockroaches they multiply so quickly. It won't be long before there are hundreds, if not thousands, of them.

[Quail]

In the interest of full disclosure, I should say there's only the one so far... In a shopping center in Essex. On the other hand, those fucking joints are like cockroaches they multiply so quickly. It won't be long before there are hundreds, if not thousands, of them.
Some chains are fucking ridiculous. In Birmingham, if you stand in a particular place just outside the Bullring you can see three different Starbucks shops.

[Red Bayonet]

They are usually filled with cockroaches too.

[praxis1966]

Some chains are fucking ridiculous. In Birmingham, if you stand in a particular place just outside the Bullring you can see three different Starbucks shops.

Yeah, I know what you mean, especially about Starbucks... Taco Bell isn't quite bad as Starbucks, but it's definitely not unusual to find two or three within a mile radius of one another.


They are usually filled with cockroaches too.

Hahaha Word.

[Toppler]

Good that we don't have Taco Bell here ... yet, I have enough of problems with my digestion thank you.

[NoOneIsIllegal]

Some chains are fucking ridiculous. In Birmingham, if you stand in a particular place just outside the Bullring you can see three different Starbucks shops.
"If you stand at the junction of Oxford Street and Regent Street in central London, there are 161 branches of Starbucks within a 5-mile radius."

That was documented in 2007, so the number is probably higher :lol: