What's really in the "meat" at Taco Bell?

[Brookie]

So - it's practically vegetarian already...

[MohandasKGanja]

By eating oats, you cut out the middleman (the cow). Taco Bell may turn out to be crypto-vegans or something.

[Beeyotch]

I agree. And quite frankly, the more filler and less beef the better, probably. But they should be upfront about it.

Yes! I'd feel more at ease if it was ALL fake soy meat and oat filler instead of snouts and hooves and fat and--let's face it--the lowest quality beef. I'd prefer the veggie taco fake soy meat. Or "MEET" if that appeases the USDA.

[MohandasKGanja]

Yes! I'd feel more at ease if it was ALL fake soy meat and oat filler instead of snouts and hooves and fat and--let's face it--the lowest quality beef. I'd prefer the veggie taco fake soy meat. Or "MEET" if that appeases the USDA.

Same here. When has there ever been a health scare or recall on texturized soy protein? Never, probably.

By the time you add oil and sauce, and sour cream and vegetables to the whole thing, I don't think most people would be able to tell the difference.

[Mel1973]

I don't eat at Taco Bell. blech!

[Brah]

Doesn't surprise me. In the 4 times I've been to Taco Bell, I've never had a good meal. I can make a way better taco, and it's all real and fresh.

[Mr. Authority]

Of course they don't use real ground beef; the cheaper the better and nothing's cheaper than "meat filling". *vomits*

[hustle4alivin]

Not surprised. I always order the chicken or steak chalupa whenever I go to Toxic Hell, which is pretty rare for me. I'm questioning the "chicken" and "steak" there enough as it is to worry about their pseudo-ground beef. I was high school when those rumors came out about roach eggs being in Taco Bell's ground meat. I knew the rumor was bullshit, but I've had an aversion to it ever since.

[fgg]

so my bean burritos are ok? good.

[dolem]

mmm, I do love their bean burritos (with lettuce added)!

My sister found a fingernail in her Taco Bell years ago, she didn't go back for 6+ years, I believe. You get what you pay for there, it's cheap. You aren't paying $5.99 for a taco, it's $.79

[VeraGemini]

Same here. When has there ever been a health scare or recall on texturized soy protein? Never, probably.

By the time you add oil and sauce, and sour cream and vegetables to the whole thing, I don't think most people would be able to tell the difference.

I make taco filling out of frozen vegetarian "ground beef", and my omnivorous friends and family say they can't tell the difference. It works quite well for chili, too.

My non-vegetarian mother actually prefers it, because she's wary of ground beef if she can't get it from a place that grinds their meat on site.

[NVash]

Taco Bell takes its beef with lawsuit to public

By SARAH SKIDMORE and BRUCE SCHREINER, AP Business Writers Sarah Skidmore And Bruce Schreiner, Ap Business Writers – Fri Jan 28, 6:49 pm ET

TacoBell says a legal beef over the meat in its tacos is bull.
The fast-food chain took out full-page ads in at least nine major newspapers and launched a YouTube campaign featuring its president Friday to proclaim its taco filling is 88 percent beef.
A false-advertising lawsuit filed last week that caused an online stir alleges the company's filling doesn't have enough beef to be called that. The lawsuit seeks to make the company stop calling it "beef," and pay the suing law firm's bill.
Taco Bell trumpeted "Thank you for suing us. Here's the truth about our seasoned beef," in the ads in Friday's editions of the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and other papers.
The ads go on to say the rest of the filling is a mixture of spices and common food additives.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, alleges the meat mixture has binders and extenders and does not meet federal requirements to be labeled beef.
Taco Bell denied those claims earlier this week but turned up the volume after a week in which the story spread like wildfire, making national headlines, creating an internet stir and even prompting a bit by comedian Stephen Colbert.
Experts say similar cases show the tempest in a tortilla is unlikely to hurt Taco Bell's business, but the aggressive counter-attack is drawing some attention.
"It is unusual for a company to take this on and challenge the allegations so boldly," said Gene Grabowski, chair of the crisis and litigation practice at Levick Strategic Communications in Washington. "A lot of companies are going to be watching how this turns out."
The tone and scope of the campaign indicates Taco Bell is confident in its facts, Grabowski said. Companies typically shy away from taking facts in a legal dispute public.
The lawsuit, filed by the Alabama law firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, doesn't specify what percentage of the mixture is meat. The lawyer on the case, Dee Miles, said the firm had the filling tested and found it contained 35 percent beef. The firm would not say who tested the meat or give any other specifics of the analysis.
Taco Bell says the filling contains 88 percent USDA-inspected beef and the rest is water, spices and a mixture of oats, starch and other ingredients that contribute to what it calls the "quality of its product."
The company said it uses no extenders to add volume to the filling.
Customers at a Taco Bell in parent company Yum Brands' hometown of Louisville, Ky., were unruffled.
"I've eaten it for years," said Greg Long as he grabbed a Beefy 5 Layer burrito Friday in Louisville, Ky. "I don't care."
"It tastes like groundbeef from any fast-food restaurant to me," said David Carey, who mostly cared it was quick enough to fit into his lunch break.
The plaintiffs would have to prove that most diners believe they are getting something other than what Taco Bell serves. Most customers realize taco meat has ingredients besides beef, Williams said.
In addition, the lawsuit cites U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines for labeling ground beef. The problem? They don't apply to restaurants. The USDA's rules apply to meat processors — the companies Taco Bell buys its meat from.
Tyson Foods Inc., the company's largest meat supplier, said it mixes and cooks the meat at three USDA-inspected plants.
So what's in the meat, anyway?
Fast food often contains additives. That "isolated oat product," for example, is usually used to help processed meat hang onto moisture and flavor. Other chains use them, too. McDonald's, for example, says its hamburgers are all beef, but the hamburger chain's ingredients list also includes additives and preservatives in many items.
Experts say similar ingredients are used in many processed foods sold in stores.
"There is nothing really Frankenfood in here," said Karen Ansel, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.
Nutrition experts say foods in their most basic, fresh form are healthiest. But Ansel said taco fans should be more concerned about salt than ingredients with long, complicated names.
"If they eat this, it is no worse for them than what they are getting anywhere else."

Source: Taco Bell takes its beef with lawsuit to public - Yahoo! News

So this all started with a lawsuit?

[SVZ]

Same here. When has there ever been a health scare or recall on texturized soy protein? Never, probably.

By the time you add oil and sauce, and sour cream and vegetables to the whole thing, I don't think most people would be able to tell the difference.

there was one recall with like morning glory patties or something like that last year

[Sarzy]

Textured soy protein is mainly full of MSG isn't it?

[Beeyotch]

Yeah that damn msg always gets us in the end. Full of flavor but so bad for so many people. And they get away with it by labelling it "natural flavoring" because it's sometimes naturally occurring. It's such bullshit I hate it, it always gives me side effects, mostly headaches.