Taco Bell: We'll Sue Anyone Who Slanders Our Seasoned Beef

There's the beef!

Taco Bell is threatening to sue anyone who makes "false statements" about the company's beef, including the people suing the company for allegedly misrepresenting what constitutes their "seasoned beef." In a spirited statement, Taco Bell President and Chief Concept Officer Greg Creed went on the warpath to defend his beef. But doth the Concept Officer protest too much? In standing up for his beef, he had no choice but to draw closer attention to the ingredients. Not that "Silicon Dioxide" or "Autolyzed Yeast Extract" is anything to be ashamed of! Own it, Mr. Concept Officer Man:

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.

Just like the tacos mom used to make at home! President Creed (no relation to Apollo or Bratton) goes on to give the broad strokes of the Seasoned Beef ingredients, which he says includes 88% USDA-inspected quality beef, plus small amounts of water, spices, "and other ingredients that contribute to the quality of our product."

We conducted an in-depth investigation to determine just what those mysterious other ingredients are, and discovered this website that dares to expose exactly what else goes into the Seasoned Beef. Namely: Beef, Water, Seasoning [Isolated Oat Product, Salt, Chili Pepper, Onion Powder, Tomato Powder, Oats (Wheat), Soy Lecithin, Sugar, Spices, Maltodextrin, Soybean Oil (Anti-dusting Agent), Garlic Powder, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Citric Acid, Caramel Color, Cocoa Powder (Processed With Alkali), Silicon Dioxide, Natural Flavors, Yeast, Modified Corn Starch, Natural Smoke Flavor], Salt, Sodium Phosphates. Wow, once Taco Bell finds out who made their recipe public, heads are gonna roll!

One of the attorneys suing Taco Bell contends that the company saves money by adding all those fillers because it enables them to skimp on beef, which is the most expensive component. "It's giving them a competitive edge. It's an economic edge" lawyer Dee Miles tells the Daily News. Miles says he's not worried about the mighty Taco Bell counter-suing, and you know what? Taco Bell probably isn't sweating it, either—their customers aren't exactly health nuts to begin with. "I'm a poor person," one customer depressingly explains to ABC News. "If it was 20% [beef] I would still eat Taco Bell. It feeds a lot of poor people, and it's a really great place."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in Food on January 27, 2011 5:30 PM

Comments [rss]

moonshifter

The problem is that if your mom made tacos for Taco Bell they'd cost twice as much, AND they would quickly go bad resulting in a health risk to people. It seems TB puts the minimal amount of extra ingredients to address that. In addition to this, the final 12% is mostly flavorings and seasoning. I mean, COME ON! How are they going to make it more than 88% beef? If they made it 100% beef, they'd take out some hamburger and put it in a pile on your plate, and THAT is NOT a taco.

curo_madidus

i hear they used to get their meat from Michael vick....

Peanut_Butter

I just noticed...is that finger in the picture actually touching the beef? ewww....that's gross!

Jesse James Payette-Steinberg

If you want a real taco, make one yourself.

Peanut_Butter

I actually like their gringo tacos. But the problem is that they're sloppy about it. And they get cheap and lazy sometimes so they give you this itty bitty bit of meat.

Mordicai

This isn't Europe, you stupid dopes. You can't abuse libel laws, because we actually have a Bill of Rights. On the reverse side, I said more or less the same thing about the Citizens United case, & it turned out that I underestimated how eager the Supreme Court was to sell America to the corporations, so maybe I spoke too soon?

dollarmenu

Is it wrong I'm really pulling for it to be 88% beef? I have enough digestive issues after eating a pair of mexican pizzas, I don't need to battle the cognitive dissonance on top of it.

Guest

that thing looks slightly worse than my first morning s... OK, THAT WAS TOO MUCH. sorry.

Rocknrope

That quote from the poor person is really sad. I also have to wonder if its cheaper to eat at Taco Bell than to cook your own versions of the same foods? You can get a stack of tortillas the size of a phone book for a dollar, beans are 80 cents a can, ground beef is $3 a pound (no fillers either.). I would bet that you can make your own for just as cheap, if not cheaper, and definitely better for you.

moonshifter

"no fillers either"

that's kind of a fallacy because taco bell uses the same beef, and your not going to make your taco be only 100% beef. If you are a cook, you will add things to season it, and some water to moisten it along with other things. And those things that are not beef would then be considered your "filler". Taco Bell's filler isn't inert, useless filler, but what's considered their "secret sauce" etc.

Rocknrope

I don't know what you're seasoning your beef with, but when I make tacos or chili, spices certainly do not make up 12% of the mixture. And from the recipe above, I know for a fact my recipe does not contain: Isolated Oat Product, Oats (Wheat), Soy Lecithin, Maltodextrin, Soybean Oil (Anti-dusting Agent), Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Citric Acid, Caramel Color, Cocoa Powder (Processed With Alkali), Silicon Dioxide, Yeast, Modified Corn Starch, Natural Smoke Flavor, and Sodium Phosphates.

So yes, I believe by cooking your own food you can avoid fillers like these.

boogpowell

Dont forget seasoning, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, in some cases sour cream, refried beans, and more. Yea just buying the cheapest tortillas, beef, and beans possible would probably be borderline about the same considering the fact that you need a working kitchen with a stove. And then theres the matter of time. When both parents are working 12 hour shifts every day, who has time to cook for 30 mins. Its alot faster to go to tbell and order the grande combo.

silver

Taco Bell beef is dog food. Grains with meat for flavor. Look at what you feed your cat and dog, 1st or 2nd ingredient will be grains.

mmheidelberger

What, sawdust isn't an ingredient?

Guest

"...12% seasonings, spices, water and other ingredients..."

NlGGAZ

For some strange reason all this talk about taco bell not having beef/is it beef/ it's made of people has made me want to eat taco bell. Goddamn power of suggestion.

Peanut_Butter

Happens to me all the time. Just go with it. Makes life more satisfying.

Peanut_Butter

I thought their beef percentage would have gone up after that dude fell into the tortilla mixer.

nicemarmot

So when are they going to sue all the other fast food places that do the same exact thing? What exactly has Taco Bell done to deserve Wrath of Useless Lawyers?