Place: Taco Bell
Lunch: Grilled steak taco (no tomato), combo burrito, nachos supreme, root beer
I was inspired to eat here by the recent news stories about somebody filing a lawsuit against Taco Bell claiming that their taco meat...isn't. (Who else would hear such a story and think "Gee, I haven't had a Nachos Supreme in awhile".)
The lawsuit alleges that Taco Bell's "Taco Meat Filling" (as the label on the pre-cooked plastic bags shipped to restaurants reads) is 36 percent beef and otherwise fillers or extenders which, if true, makes it not only not technically "beef", but not even "taco meat filling" (which the suit claims the USDA's Food Standards and Labeling Policy Book says must contain at least 40 percent fresh meat).
Taco Bell has issued a statement..."At Taco Bell, we buy our beef from the same trusted brands you find in the supermarket, like Tyson Foods. We start with 100 percent USDA-inspected beef. Then we simmer it in our proprietary blend of seasonings and spices to give our seasoned beef its signature Taco Bell taste and texture. We are proud of the quality of our beef and identify all the seasoning and spice ingredients on our website. 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."
That hasn't stopped the food Nazi's who believe anything that doesn't grow out of the ground organically shouldn't be eaten from jumping all over this and coming up with ways to make this sound as gross as possible. They see an opportunity to get face time, and they're taking it. It DID, however, get several sites to modify the tone of their stories a bit (even if Taco Bell didn't actually specifically name a higher percentage number of the beef content in their response).
(EDIT...They have since I wrote this. "Our seasoned beef recipe contains 88% quality USDA-inspected beef and 12% seasonings, spices, water and other ingredients that provide taste, texture and moisture." They also said "Our seasoned beef contains no "extenders" to add volume, as some might use.")
Extenders in fast food taco meat are not uncommon. I'm relatively sure two of my favorites practice this (actually, I know for a fact one does, and am pretty sure on the other based on texture). There's lots of stuff you can use to make the meat go further. And it's not always done in the name of saving money on beef. There's several health-conscious websites offering up recipes with extenders such as beans and tofu to make things healthier while still offering a real beef taste. Heck...you could technically say I use an extender in my beef enchiladas because I add refried beans to my enchilada meat mixture. Then again, I also call them 'beef and bean enchiladas'.
Really...How much 'healthier' could it be whether or not it's a high percentage of beef? This is Taco Bell. It's still going to be covered in liquid cheese and processed sauces.
Give me specific proof of ingredients that increase potential harm over their regular processed beef in that meat filling, and maybe I'll reconsider.
Maybe
