Plain beef 'boring' —" Taco Bell" Says As They respond to LawSuit

Taco Bell Corp. said on Friday the plain ground beef it uses "tastes boring" — 

so that's why the fast food chain seasons it with additives.

Photograph by: Don Emmert, National Post

NEW YORK — Taco Bell Corp. said on Friday that the plain ground beef it uses "tastes boring" — and that's why the fast food chain uses additives.

The explanation comes in a major campaign that includes ads in newspapers across the United States, an outreach program aimed at the restaurant chain's Hispanic customers, and a YouTube message from Taco Bell president Greg Creed.

The campaign marks Taco Bell's latest response to a lawsuit filed in a California federal court last week questioning the makeup of the company's taco, burrito and other "beef" fillings.

"Thank you for suing us. Here's the truth about our seasoned beef," say the ads in the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and other publications. They go on to justify adding to the natural product by saying that the "bland flavour of ground beef . . . doesn't make for great-tasting tacos."

News of the lawsuit — filed by the Alabama law firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles — not only made immediate headlines, but quickly spread on the Internet.

It claims that while Taco Bell's "chicken" and "carne asada steak" are genuine, the product the chain advertises as "seasoned beef" is only 35 per cent beef.

Taco Bell initially responded by pledging to counter-sue the plaintiffs — but industry watchers say the ad campaign shows it felt the need for a more forceful rebuttal to protect its brand.

The Taco Bell ads say the meat in their beef products is "just like the quality beef you buy in a supermarket," but with seasoning added to "give the meat flavour and quality."

The ads say the "real percentages" are "88 per cent beef and 12 per cent secret recipe." Taco Bell then proceeds to unveil its "secret" recipe.

"We . . . add water to keep it juicy and moist (three per cent). Mix in Mexican spices and flavours, including salt, chili pepper, onion power, tomato powder, sugar, garlic powder, and cocoa powder (four per cent). Combine a little oats, caramelized sugar, yeast, citric acid, and other ingredients that contribute to flavour, moisture, consistency, and quality of our seasoned beef (five per cent)," the company's ads say.

Experts say the lawsuit is itself problematic.

For one thing, most consumers are believed to assume meat fillings contain some additives.

The lawsuit also cites U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines for labelling a product as beef. But while the guidelines apply to meat processors, they do not apply to restaurants.

For its part, Tyson Food Inc., which supplies most of Taco Bell's meat, says it mixes the beef in USDA-inspected plants and tests the product daily.

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