Taco Bell Has Beef With Accusations, Plans to Sue

Taco Bell President and Chief Concept Officer Greg Creed has responded to a class action lawsuit that claims the fast food chain's beef taco filling is not entirely made of beef. Creed says the Alabama-based law firm behind the suit, Beasley Allen, "elected to sue first and ask questions later -- and got their 'facts' absolutely wrong." He also says Taco Bell is planning to "take legal action for the false statements being made about our food."

So what is in Taco Bell's beef taco meat? According to Creed: "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." He also says all of the ingredients are listed on their website. We're not sure how much one can get from this list (which we've included below, so feel free to take a stab at it), but it does seem at least some of the "extenders" Beasley Allen cited in the lawsuit (including everyone's favorite, Isolated Oat Product) are part of the seasoning blend.

Greg Creed's 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.”

The Ingredients of Taco Bell's 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

· Lawsuit Claims Taco Bell's Meat Isn't All Beef [-E-]
· All Taco Bell Coverage on Eater [-E-]
[Photo: stevendepolo / Flickr]