Taco Bell Lawsuit: Where's the Beef?

By: Natalie Jimenez
Topics: Video

We've all heard the urban tales about fast food giants making cheap meals out of unsavory ingredients like meal worms and headless chickens.

Well, now, Taco Bell is under the spotlight for allegedly questionable practices. An Alabama law firm has filed a class-action lawsuit against the chain saying the stuff they call "seasoned beef" is only about 36 percent meat.

The firm tested the "meat mixture" and found that it contained ingredients like water, wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, modified corn starch and an anti-dusting agent.

According to the complaint, Taco Bell does not meet the minimum requirements set forth by the USDA to label its product as "beef" and uses false advertising.

But do customers care? CBS 2's Suzanne Marques reports from a drive-thru in Orange, Calif.

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by TacoBellSecrets January 29, 2011 1:23 AM EST: What the law suit should really be about is that none of the meat Taco Bell serves is acutally grilled at Taco Bell. All the meat Taco Bell uses comes frozen in bags and is placed in water (Thermalizer) to be heated to a safe serving temperature. Taco Bell commercials lead people to believe that the meats especially the chicken are being grilled in the resturant. The bag of beef looks like a bag of moist dog food. Don't take my word for it however go to a Taco bell and watch them do prep or simple ask an employee to tell or show you.; Reply to this comment


by Clouseau2 January 27, 2011 3:19 PM EST: I think I read the book "fast food nation" around 8 years ago and that was the last time I had a meal at a McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, etc. What Taco Bell serves is not even technically food, it's more like industrial food-like substances.; Reply to this comment


by Jhihmoac January 26, 2011 11:57 PM EST: Fast food: Could be anything from acorns to zebra meat...Wide spectrum there...; Reply to this comment

by SandyColumbus January 26, 2011 1:17 PM EST

WOW!! I think this is one of the frivilous lawsuits that is wasting taxpayer dollars that the president mentioned last night in his speech! Also, if it tastes sooo good, who cares.

Reply to this comment


by kenalexruss January 26, 2011 1:29 PM EST: This lawsuit wastes no tax payer dollars. The court costs are borne by the losing side. Thanks for your intelligent comments


by SandyColumbus January 26, 2011 1:15 PM EST: WOW!! I think this is one of the frivilous lawsuits that is wasting taxpayer dollars that the president mentioned last night in his speech! Also, if it tastes sooo good, who cares.; Reply to this comment


by wheresmycountry January 26, 2011 4:59 AM EST: The irony here is that Taco Bell charges 99 cents for a taco, and Jack in the Box charges 99 cents for two tacos.; Reply to this comment


by gjc1n1 January 25, 2011 7:02 PM EST: For the last few months I've occasionally purchased the $2.99 special which include a small hamburger, small fries and a small drink. Now I understand why it was only $2.99. A hamburger should be an all beef hamburger, not a soy burger. I'm scratching Wendy's off my list.; Reply to this comment


by CHUREN1 January 25, 2011 6:08 PM EST: This is totally ironic. I was just telling my 16 year old a few weeks ago that I was not going back to Taco Bell because they did not use real meat. It is a grade below dog food if you ask me. After eating a taco, you wanna have something in your teeth to pick out (meat). But there is no meat to pick out of your teeth because there is no beef in the taco mix. I even seperated the meat from the shell and eat only the meat because of my curiosity and found that it was not meat at all. I couldn't put any part of it between two teeth and chew it up because it broke down or degraded or something of that nature. IDK wut that crap is. I just go home and make my own tacos for my family with Grade a USDA ground beef from my local meat market. Because I know where the beef is, not at Taco Bell...LMAO; Reply to this comment


by gdinsb January 25, 2011 3:46 PM EST: If this is true, I am very disappointed in Taco Bell. I'm not expecting something high quality, but if you say beef, you better be selling beef. I'd eat soy tacos at home if I wanted phytoestrogens in my protein!; Reply to this comment


by RealiteBites January 25, 2011 3:24 PM EST: Yak!

I used to LOVE Taco Bell, but the last couple of years I just haven't found it satisfying and I didn't know what changed. So that's it ... hmmm ...

Tacos are really easy to make at home - I buy those Old El Paso kits, you know like that guy says on tv: "mucho fun tonight" .... and they taste soooo good. They make shells now with whole grains, and have sauce and seasoning with less sodium. And it's easier to add more veggies and you can use low-fat cheese and sour cream - sooo delish!; Reply to this comment

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