Taco Bell- Where’s the beef!!? This question raised by a customer indeed questioned the credibility of the junk food giant which has inspired people to “Think Outside the Bun”.  The customers are urging the food giant to rephrase their campaign to sound like “Where’s beef in that Bun?”.

A class-action lawsuit was filed against the junk food giant on January 24, 2011 for advertising and selling a taco which had just 35% of the beef in it. The lawsuit alleged that the company is fooling customers by branding its products to read like “Contains seasoned ground beef and seasoned beef.”

In the lawsuit filed by the Alabama based law firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Metvin, Portis and Miles it was alleged that Taco Bell is using the meat mixture containing binders and extenders in food products in place of the real beef. Also, it added that the meat product used doesn’t qualify to labeled “beef” as per the quality standards set by the U.S Department of Agriculture.

According to the attorney Dee Miles the meat mixture comprises of 35% meat and 65% wheat oats, water, maltodextrin, soy lethicin, modified corn starch and anti dusting agent. 

The lawsuit was initiated by a regular Taco Bell customer Amanda Obney from California who is not pressing for any monetary remuneration instead wants the company to adopt honest advertising policies.  Miles urged on Ms Obney’s behalf that they only want the Taco Bell to stop branding their products around the beef.

In response to all this hoopla the Taco Bell spokesman Rob Poetsch denied that company has ever adopted any unfair means to promote its products and it will all necessary measure to defend the lawsuit.

The company has already listed the ingredients on its website but dieticians like Tanya Zuckerbrot is of the opinion that some of the filers present in the food products may act as allergen and the eaters may experiences adverse side effects. Zuckerbot is of the opinion that some of the filers like wheat oats, maltodextrin and soy lecithin often pass off as meat substitutes. They are added to food to disguise a meat product, and are less expensive than any real meat. And Taco Bell is not the different. They also use the same filers to disguise their product. By advertising their products as meat the junk food has not only fooled the customers but also placed them on pedestal of allergic reactions and other health risks.

Zuckerbrot further elaborated that according to the guidelines set by USDA - any product that identifies itself as beef can have seasonings but they should be free from any form of binder, seasonings, extenders and water. And Taco Bell fails to fulfill this requirements set by the USDA. She also suggested that instead of using the term “ground seasoned meat” the Junk food manufacturer can harp on the term mixed meat which will atleast let the customers know what they are sinking their teeths into.

So, the next time when you happen to hunt your food joint for sinking your teeth into the greasy beef burger wait a moment to check back its ingredients. Read through the ingredients carefully to access that you are not falling prey to the vicious attack of allergens.   

Image Courtesy:aquapour.com