Taco Bell Responds to "Ground Beef" Claims

Per our previous post, Taco Bell has been accused, in a lawsuit, of serving Ground Beef in their tacos that does not contain enough 'real beef' to legally be called "Ground Beef."

Taco Bell's President has now responded in a video (below) and a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal.

Here's the full statement from Taco Bell's President, Greg Creed:

"The lawsuit is bogus and filled with completely inaccurate facts. Our beef is 100% USDA inspected, just like the quality beef you would buy in a supermarket and prepare in your home. It then is slow-cooked and simmered with proprietary seasonings and spices to provide Taco Bell's signature taste and texture. 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.

"Our recipe for seasoned beef includes ingredients you'd find in your home or in the supermarket aisle today:
88% USDA-inspected quality beef
3-5% water for moisture
3-5% spices (including salt, chili pepper, onion powder, tomato powder, sugar, garlic powder, cocoa powder and a proprietary blend of Mexican spices and natural flavors).
3-5% oats, starch, sugar, yeast, citric acid, and other ingredients that contribute to the quality of our product.

"Our seasoned beef contains no "extenders" to add volume, as some might use. For more information about our ingredients go to http://www.tacobell.com."

Greg Creed
President and Chief Concept Officer
Taco Bell Corp.

Here he is in a video Taco Bell posted on YouTube:

Lawsuit Disputes Taco Bell's "Ground Beef" Claims

An Atlanta Law Firm, Beasley Allen, has filed a consumer rights class action lawsuit against Taco Bell claiming that what Taco Bells advertises and serves as "Ground Beef" can't legally be marketed and sold that way because it doesn't contain enough 'real beef.'

In their words, the lawsuit:

"challenges Taco Bell's practice of representing to consumers that its restaurants serve 'seasoned ground beef' or 'seasoned beef' filling in its products, when in fact a substantial amount of the filling contains substances other than beef. The lawsuit seeks to require Taco Bell to properly advertise and label food items, and to engage in a corrective advertising campaign to educate the public about the true content of its food products.

"According to standards established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the meat filling in Taco Bell's products does not meet the minimum standard requirement to be labeled and advertised as 'beef,' seasoned or otherwise."

[full lawsuit (pdf)] & [Law firm's press release]

Taco Bell has responded, via spokesman Rob Poetsch, but not directly denied the claims set forth in the suit:

"Taco Bell prides itself on serving high quality Mexican-inspired food with great value. We’re happy that the millions of customers we serve every week agree. We deny our advertising is misleading in any way and we intend to vigorously defend the suit."