Taco Bell

Because I knew that you would quote that specific post so I acted angry just to make it so.

That last post was sarcasm.
You another one of those stooges that thinks typing in ALL CAPS IS YELLING?
silly silly.

^this really surprised me, as soon as I saw the word lawsuit, I immediately assumed that someone was just out to make a quick buck, but if this is the case, why not? I think it's a reasonable request to know what you are eating.

Double Deckers ftw!

i think they should just follow suite with Dominos and try to cash on the "we're sorry but we're way better now" approach. it seems to work from what i've seen so far lol.

Yes. That extra 4% of beef is a ludicrous request!

and preservatives!

I don't think this is right. Taco Bell (going by what they have said, as well as the ex-employee in this thread) starts with 100% USDA inspected BEEF. That's right. The only meat in their beef tacos is BEEF. They then take this 100% beef, and add to it some things to flavor and thicken it up, or whatever the hell the oil, oats and misc additives are meant to do. Does the beef suddenly change to some weird beef-filler hybrid? Nope. It still has the same 100% beef base, now with better flavor!

But hey, lets run with the idea that it's only 35% beef. What's next on the lawsuit list. Beef chili? Beef hotdogs? Same deal, the only meat in them is 100% pure beef, and then of course they add the regular fillings to make them what they are.


ETA: also, to requote their ingredients:

Seasoned Ground Beef

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. CONTAINS SOYBEAN, WHEAT

So you have Beef, Water, Seasonings (broken down in depth for you), salt and sodium phosphates. The article in the OP states that the beef is simmered down with the blend of seasonings, so that would explain where the water comes into play since so many people were up in arms over that. For those who don't cook, simmering involves cooking food in a hot liquid.

I really don't get what the fuss is over this.

Because ... even though there is beef (and no other type of meat) in Taco Bell's "seasoned beef", there is not ENOUGH beef in the mixture for the resulting food to be considered/labeled "beef", based on the USDA's (very lenient) definition of what substances/mixtures can qualify to be labeled "beef".

I'm having a hard time understanding how some of you don't understand this concept.

No one is saying Taco Bell is using non-beef meat.
No one is saying Taco Bell is trying to hide the other ingredients they put in the "seasoned beef".
No one is saying you can't go get a Taco Bell "beef" taco right now; eat at your own risk.


What is being said is that the "seasoned beef" mixture does not contain enough actual beef (by percentage of content) to meet the government-established (USDA) minimum standard for a product to be called "beef".

Who is saying the amount of beef in their seasoned ground beef doesn't meet the standard? The people behind the lawsuit? From what I understand, the USDA regulation for ground beef applies to the MEAT alone, not everything else that is cooked with the meat, so it would seem TB is in the clear here.

The ingredients listed in the "seasoned ground beef" are all independent of each other, and therefore (I would assume) are judged independently. Just because there is water and seasoning in the final product does not make the beef any less beefy. :3

Funny, cause they're totally adding other stuff they shouldn't be, right?

And they may be using 40%, no one knows currently. This could just be a bunch of ***. We'll find out soon at any rate.

I know for sure, after a night of drinking, I would have some spicy burritos. Jesus, the next morning I turn into a rocket ship.

Just for argument sake... if we take 1 ounce of beef, grind it up and put in 15 ounce of other crap, then take 1 ounce of that mixture add 15 ounces of other crap, ad infinitum... we still have 1 ounce of beef in that product. Could you still label the resulting product as "beef"? Sure there is one ounce of beef in it, but the majority of what you have is not beef.

This is more extreme obviously, but makes the point clearer.

The chalupa's are good! I don't really eat taco ***anymore though...lol

A year or so ago when I lived within walking distance of one I asked the guy working there about the meat and he told me what they really do...stopped getting it after that >.>;

and started going to....chipotle!

Don't throw numbers at me! They make my head spin ._. But another thing I forgot to mention earlier is that when listing ingredients, they are shown in the order of content percentage - highest to lowest. Beef is the number one ingredient on their list, and so that would mean that beef makes up the largest percentage of all items in the final product. Sure, maybe it's only 35% (really, where did this number come from..?), but that still makes it the top ingredient.

Sorry if that's confusing. My ability to word things in a clear manner went away during lunch time :(

well if you add those other ingredients together you get a higher percentage of 65% :/
i'll simplify it with another example.
this is going to be with eggs and egg substitute.
so lets say you have two eggs left and then a container of egg substitute.
1 large egg is approximately 1 ounce.
so that makes it 2 ounces of real eggs.

lets say for some reason you have to make 10 ounces worth.

you crack open the two eggs and put it into a measuring container which puts you at a total of two ounces.
then you pour 8 ounces of egg substitute in there.
and you fry that ***up and serve it
telling those you serve it to that these are farm fresh large eggs.
would that or would that not be dishonest?


tl;dr:
2 ounces of real egg
8 ounces of egg substitute
which =
10 ounces of an egg mixture
sold as:
farm fresh eggs.
dishonest, y/n?

Vinvv speaks the truth here. Or if you have time and money, go to on the border. That place is heaven.

Qdoba represent!

You know what I like best...home-prepared taco meat with burrito coverings.
That way I can define the quantity and not have to either get something that's over portioned or get jipped.

Not bad if you have the time to make it. I wish I had cooking supplies and the means to get ingredients here at school. /sadface.

Qdoba yup or Chipotle lol ^^

White washed mexican food ftw ;) Hehe its good !

In your example, I would definitely agree that it dishonest since they are specifically labeling them farm fresh eggs when the substitute does not come out of a little white shell.

In my sad little memory, I don't recall TB making a huge deal about their tacos aside from saying they are "Beef Tacos", which I still think is perfectly valid since they are made with beef (albeit seasoned/yummified beef). I don't think most people would ever assume that beef is the ONLY ingredient in something like that, there will always be seasonings and fillers. At least in most convenience food these days...

Now I'm craving some of this food, but have no means to get it. Blast!

Do you think it should be that way?

White castle #1

If I didn't have class I'd meat you in the city with Qdoba.

;P

Too bad I'm far away from NYC =| I bet I could plan out bus routes to get there, though. =D

In a perfect world, we would only have fresh, organic, nutritious food at our disposal....but that's not the way of the world. :3 I don't think anyone in this thread is arguing about the nutritious value of TB food because everyone knows it's horribly bad for you. They do meet the standards put forward by the USDA as far as I'm concerned, but meeting standards does not mean that you're doing your body any good if you consume it.

So yeah, I still think TB is in the clear on this one. I also think that TB food is awful for you, but it tastes good. D:

So pretty much you're saying that because taco bell is unhealthy they shouldn't have to change and become more healthy?
Weird.

Is a fast food joint supposed to held up as the epitome of healthy eating O.o People typically eat that stuff because it's fast, cheap, and tastes relatively good. Anyone who thinks that they're getting a quality meal (nutrition-wise) is fooling themselves. TB does have their fresca line of food, so they do offer healthier alternatives, but that argument is off-topic as the original complaint was about false advertising.