Consumerist
A reader sent us the contents of a Better Business Bureau complaint filed against Taco Bell. It describes how a customer tried repeatedly to find out what grade beef Taco Bell uses in its food, and how nobody at the company was able or willing to provide an answer. Not surprisingly, the BBB complaint also went unanswered. Let's just hope they're not sourcing their beef from forklift cattle, which is like downer cattle but has odd prong-shaped bruises on the side.
Here's the actual BBB complain that went unanswered by Taco Bell:
About 3 weeks ago i called the 800# asking what grade of beef they use. All they could tell me was usda approved. I called 4 times and got the same, twice i left my # and was told a nutritionalist would call me back....no call ever came. I next e mailed corp with the same question. I was answered by a Sandy Shakelford telline me:I have located a phone number contact in which you can inquire about our meat. Taco Bell Corporation 949-863-4500 and ask for the QA Department. I called a total of three times first got a prompt telling me to put in MY voice mail # to get my messages. Next i was transfered to a recording telling of bad cheese both plain and mixed and to throw them out and call in for a credit. Third was disconected. 4th i got a voice mailbox in the Quality control dept. i think his name was Steve...Again i left my question and # and again no call back. On Feb 27 i e mailed Sandy telling her what my phone experiance was and had not got an answer to my question...That was 10 days ago and again no contact from Sandy nor Taco Bell. Side note the web sight says contact us call 1800 TACO BELL when its actually 800 TACO BEL....The companys resistance to answer my question tells me what i was told by a friend that worked there that they use poor yet usda approved beef could be true.
(Thanks to Moe!)
(Photo: karlfrankowski)
Comments
To be exact.. GRADE D.
Now this is from a friend of a friend who worked there for a time..
I was told they use Grade E meat whatever that means. He said it was marked on the packages of meat they received and he would never eat from there once he started working there.
It is probably the same crap beef McD$ uses, Prison/School Grade. Mmmmmm tasty!
call 1800 TACO BELL when its actually 800 TACO BEL....
Eh, don't complain about the phone number, it's the same, now the desire not to answer is insteresting, but the phone number should be a non-issue
They might be a little hesitant to tell you that b/ it's close to the level of doggy food that your little poodle eats..
@parad0x360: I thougt that Grade E meat was like not for humans.
According to this there is no mandatory letter grading system for beef via the USDA
[everything2.com]
That doesn't mean we shouldn't have some sort of information about the source, quality and handling of said beef.
I'm not sure. Whatever grade Chihuahua is.
who cares about the beef, I'm in it for the bean burritos!
"Sandy Shakelford "
Any relation to Rusty Shackleford? ;)
no joke i just got taco bell and sat down took my first bite. and here this article is.
GRADE F MEAT - Ingredients: Mostly circus animals, some filler
There is a reason why every former employee never eats there, and I bet its not only the Beef. I say EECB YUM Brand Corp.
First of all USDA does not use a letter grading scale. USDA grading is Prime, Choice, and Select. Lower grades (Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter, and Canner). Also USDA grading is VOLUNTARY.
Source: USDA Fact Sheet.
[www.fsis.usda.gov]
How is Beef Inspected?
Inspection is mandatory; grading is voluntary, and a plant pays to have its meat graded. USDA-graded beef sold at the retail level is Prime, Choice, and Select. Lower grades (Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter, and Canner) are mainly ground or used in processed meat products. Retail stores may use other terms which must be different from USDA grades.
USDA grading is a lot more important for whole cuts of meat, like steaks, than it is for ground beef. Bear in mind, too, that one of the primary grading criteria is the amount of fat in the beef, so a "higher" grade isn't necessarily desirable for meat that's being ground up. And finally, as Bohemian pointed out, grading is entirely voluntary (restaurants like to be able to advertise that their meat is "Prime" or "Choice", but if you're not going to advertise the grade, it's a waste of money), so it's a near-certainty that Taco Bell doesn't bother to have their meat graded.
Also, there's no letter-grading.
[en.wikipedia.org]
Where do you think the Taco Bell mascot ended up?
mmmmmmmmmmmmmm yo queiro perro
Someone has to say it...
TACO BELL BEEF IS MADE OF PEOPLE!!!
OH,THE HUMANITY!!
Seriously,I don't think I WANT to know..
Grade D, same meat that is used in most dog food.
Yes, I have been a vegetarian for about 6 years now.
Remember, you get what you pay for. I don't want to pay $8.49 for a taco. I like going to taco bell for the adventure, I'm a big risk taker.
(or cutter/canner)
The lowest grade allowed for human consumption. It's how they can still sell .99 chili-cheese buritos.
Based on rising costs,if they actually used a decent grade of beef those chili-cheese things should cost like $2.25 by now.
They use beef!?!? I thought it was styrofoam and chemical flavoring.
There are 8 USDA grades of beef.
Prime
Choice
Select
Standard
Commercial
Utility
Cutter
Canner
Prime is generally only used by higher end restaurants. Choice and Select is found in butcher shops. House brand meat in supermarkets is generally Standard or Commercial grade.
Utility, Cutter and Canner are almost never sold at retail and are used to make ground or processed meat products.
We can pretty much guess which grades taco bell uses.
That being said, grades reflect the tenderness, juiciness and flavor of the meat and nothing else. Lesser grades are no less healthy or safe than higher grades.
Even if Taco Bell were to use USDA Prime beef in it's tacos, due to the cooking techniques and flavorings, you'd never be able to tell the difference.
beef, like shredded beef? I dont know. I know the steak in their quesodillas is pretty good. I may have 6 forms of cancer from it, but it tastes good. So thats pretty much a push
Hmmmm McGrade E meat... is that why the smell of Taco Bell or McDonalds beef leaves me feeling slightly queezy?
You get what you pay for. Sometimes you're paying for diarrhea.
The USDA does not grade on a letter scale. Further, the grade the USDA gives is not based on any health requirements, etc.
The USDA grades are, in order descending from the highest:
1. USDA Prime
2. USDA Choice
3. USDA Select
4. USDA Standard
5. USDA Commercial
6. USDA Utility
7. USDA Cutter
8. USDA Canner
The grade is simply based on the amount of intramuscle fat and marbling distribution in the meat. The higher the grade, the more intramuscle fat, and the greater the marbling. Both of these affect the amount of flavor the cooked meat will have. Steaks should be USDA Prime or USDA Choice. The meat that Taco Bell uses is probably USAD Commercial. However, this does not mean that the meat is less healthy than better grades, it simply means the meat has less fat and less marbling.
Taco Bell mixes its meat into a sauce that gives it flavor. What would be the point of using a fattier cut of beef if you are simply going to pour it into sauce?
As long as Taco Bell uses USDA graded beef, regardless of the grade it receives, I'm happy.
As long as Taco Bell uses USDA graded beef, regardless of the grade it receives, I'm happy.
Just to clarify, you probably mean USDA approved. Most beef that would receive a grade below "select" is never actually graded to begin with; nobody's ever going to advertise that their beef is "commercial"-grade, so it's not worth the money to have it graded.
It's definitely Grade D, whatever that means. I actually caught a glimpse of a taco bell employee taking out the trash when the store closed. He had bags of cans that said "Grade D" beef. No brand name no nothing!
The grading scale is a joke. If you don't know the scale, all top 3 meats sound amazing. Joe Blow sees 'USDA Select' at walmart, has a party in his pants, buys it, has no idea there are 2 levels above it. Should make it easier.
Higher grade beef just has more fat. That's what my history teacher said at least, but lost of things he told us were wrong.
@redpeppers20xx: I WISH they still sold chili-cheese burritos. When they had the chili nachos they brought the chili-cheese burritos back for about a month, I ate at least a metric ton of them :)
That was basically the staple of my high-school diet, chili cheese and bean burritos.
@scoli83: The last sentence in my prior post should have read: As Taco Bell uses, USDA INSPECTED beef, regardless of the grade it receives, I'm happy.
Hey you pay for a 69 cent taco what do you want?
For what it's worth - I was employed by Taco Bell and the side of the boxes did state 'grade D.' While I understand that there is not a letter grading system, this is what the boxes used to state.
didnt you read fast food nation?
@44 in a Row: Yup, thanks. After writing a paragraph on grading my hands typed "grade" when I meant inspected/approved.
They use grade F "meat" - mostly circus animals and science projects.
Grade disgusting.
Send an email:
Which type of the following does the company use?
1. USDA Prime
2. USDA Choice
3. USDA Select
4. USDA Standard
5. USDA Commercial
6. USDA Utility
7. USDA Cutter
8. USDA Canner
Respond or I will not eat there again.
I found this site from Texas A&M where they say one of the measurements the USDA uses is the age of the carcass. That is graded on a letter scale, with Grade D indicating an animal that was 72-96 months old at slaughter, and grade E is greater than 96 months.
The older the cow, the tougher the meat will be, so it's no surprise that these animals end up as ground beef.
Still, it's nothing to do with the safety of the meat, just how tender it is (and frankly, using Prime beef for ground meat would be a waste).
this is the page that lays out the grading of meat
[www.fsis.usda.gov]
i don't see a A B C grading standard there
Oops....forgot the link: [meat.tamu.edu]
@Oryx: Do you mean you're a vegetarian based on some specious information about "Grade D" meat. Why not just eat better quality meat and be done with it instead of making stuff up?
I worked there in 1986. The grade of beef was FAIL.
"About 3 weeks ago i called the 800# asking what grade of beef they use. All they could tell me was usda approved."
USDA grading means the meat is-at the very least-fit for consumption.
Given the prices at Taco Bell and a guess at what the meat is graded, what do you think?
Nice letter.
Will you guys reprint my letter about how Tootsie won't send me a free Tootsie pop for my star wrapper.
"noone wants to know how the hotdogs are made".... they just want to eat them & enjoy it.
Ignorance IS bliss!
Whatever it is I bet its STILL better/safer than authentic tacos you get in mexico.
@Consumer9: I find it cute when individuals think that e-mailing a global corporation with a threat to discontinue visiting when they receive, on average, less than $5 per customer is supposed to scare the shit out of them.
@forgottenpassword: "Whatever it is I bet its STILL better/safer than authentic tacos you get in mexico."
I wouldn't be so sure about that bet. You seen the conditions in American slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants (not to mention the factory farms where the beef is raised)?
@spinachdip:
Let me get this straight.... you are comparing US slaughterhouse conditions to mexican ones? LOL! I'll take my chances with US slaughterhouse conditions thankyou very much! Because no matter how bad the US ones are.... the mexican ones MUST be worse!
The raw ground beef from which is found to be contaminated with e-coli a/k/a cow shit and can't be sold as is or you will get sick and possibly die is sent to another processing plant for cooked meat only. That meat is then presumably subjected to high heat to try and kill the bacteria and then it is shipped off to the dog food plant and Taco Bell. And if they screw up, you have an outbreak and recall.
And what is up with the recording to throw away "bad cheese". What bad cheese. Were they going to tell anyone about that or only those who call that number get this information. They do sell packaged Taco Bell cheese in the supermarkets. It would be nice if people knew what cheese was bad.
And USDA inspected means the same as FDA approved. Absolutely nothing. Actually it means that if enough people get sick and die we will investigate ... maybe... and issue a recall ...maybe.
I am a bit of an extremist but I have had food poisoning and I will tell you death is welcome. It is like living in hell. No flu or any non chronic illness that you would regularly experience comes close.
@forgottenpassword: Whatever it is, it's probably better than what's used in public school lunches.
Authentic tacos from Mexico, I don't know.
[www.snopes.com]
"In the USA meat is not graded on a scale
represented by letters, so one would never see crates of meat labeled
Grade D (or any other letter grade)."
As long as the cows have gone to Bovine University, I'm happy.
@GothGirl:
Still the only restaurant where I can get full on $2.
It's not beef
They just put Mexicans into a meat grinder. True story.
Wait, you eat at Taco Bell, and now you care about the quality of meat?
Really?
Ok........
I always thought they just changed the extrusion template and added a different color to the soy based mix to make each ingredient...green for lettuce, orange for cheese, brown for "beef"
Here is a link to some info about beef grading and what it means. The prime, select etc. refer to the tenderness and fat content and the letter grades refer to the age of the beef with A being the youngest.
[en.wikibooks.org]
Everyone knows it's circus animals, but at 2:00am after clubbin who cares.