Taco Bell is threatening to sue anyone who makes "false statements" about the company's beef, including the people suing the company for allegedly misrepresenting what constitutes their "seasoned beef." In a spirited statement, Taco Bell President and Chief Concept Officer Greg Creed went on the warpath to defend his beef. But doth the Concept Officer protest too much? In standing up for his beef, he had no choice but to draw closer attention to the ingredients. Not that "Silicon Dioxide" or "Autolyzed Yeast Extract" is anything to be ashamed of! Own it, Mr. Concept Officer Man:
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.
Just like the tacos mom used to make at home! President Creed (no relation to Apollo or Bratton) goes on to give the broad strokes of the Seasoned Beef ingredients, which he says includes 88% USDA-inspected quality beef, plus small amounts of water, spices, "and other ingredients that contribute to the quality of our product."
We conducted an in-depth investigation to determine just what those mysterious other ingredients are, and discovered this website that dares to expose exactly what else goes into the Seasoned Beef. Namely: 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. Wow, once Taco Bell finds out who made their recipe public, heads are gonna roll!
One of the attorneys suing Taco Bell contends that the company saves money by adding all those fillers because it enables them to skimp on beef, which is the most expensive component. "It's giving them a competitive edge. It's an economic edge" lawyer Dee Miles tells the Daily News. Miles says he's not worried about the mighty Taco Bell counter-suing, and you know what? Taco Bell probably isn't sweating it, either—their customers aren't exactly health nuts to begin with. "I'm a poor person," one customer depressingly explains to ABC News. "If it was 20% [beef] I would still eat Taco Bell. It feeds a lot of poor people, and it's a really great place."
