Taco Bell Sued Over Meat

Taco Bell Sued Over Meat That's Just 35 Percent Beef

Taco Bell might want to change it's "Think Outside the Bun" campaign to "What's Really in That Taco?" after a class-action lawsuit filed against the fast-food giant claimed its taco filler doesn't, um, "meat" federal standards.

The suit against the YUM-brands chain also has a "beef" with the company's advertising, charging its claims of using "seasoned ground beef" or "seasoned beef" in its food products is false.

According to the suit filed by the Alabama law firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, the YUM-brands owned chain is using a meat mixture that contains binders and extenders, and does not meet the minimum requirements set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be labeled as "beef.”

Attorney Dee Miles said the meat mixture contained just 35 percent beef, with the remaining 65 percent containing water, wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, anti-dusting agent and modified corn starch.

The suit was filed on behalf of Taco Bell customer and California resident Amanda Obney, who is not seeking monetary damages, but instead wants a court to order Taco Bell to be honest in its advertising.

"We are asking that they stop saying that they are selling beef," Miles said.

Irvine, Calif.-based Taco Bell spokesman Rob Poetsch said the company denies that its advertising is misleading and said the company would "vigorously defend the suit."

While the company does list its ingredients on its website — and indicates whether they are allergens — registered dietitian and Fox News contributor Tanya Zuckerbrot said the fillers could be a danger for some consumers.

“Wheat oats, soy lecithin and maltodrextrin are common allergens that are often added to processed foods as fillers because they are much less expensive than meat,” she said. “Aside from being misleading, this form of false advertising puts the consumer at risk as well.”

Zuckerbrot said according to the USDA, “ground beef can have seasonings, but no water, phosphates, extenders, or binders added.” The meat from Taco Bell does not meet the minimum requirements set by the USDA, she said.

“Rather than Taco Bell calling the meat ‘seasoned ground beef’ they should refer to it as ‘mixed meat’ and list the additional ingredients so consumers can know what they are putting into their mouths,” she said.

News From: www.foxnews.com

Taco Bell Pulls Ads From MTV Skins

Risqué scenes on the hit MTV drama “Skins” have caused one company to remove its commercials from the program and have spurred a call by a TV watchdog group for a federal investigation.Taco Bell said Thursday that it had shifted its ads to other programs because “Skins” was “not a fit for our brand.” MTV did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Friday.

“Skins” gained attention earlier in the week when The New York Times reported that MTV executives had ordered edits to coming episodes of the show for fear of running afoul of child pornography statutes. Some of the actors in “Skins” are under the age of 18. In response, MTV said in a statement that the episodes of “Skins” will comply with all legal requirements.

After the Times report, the Parents Television Council, a TV watchdog group with conservative tendencies, called on Congress and the Justice Department to “open an investigation regarding child pornography and exploitation.”

The group asserted in a letter on Thursday that the program may be in violation of federal statutes pertaining to portrayals of child sexual abuse and sexual behavior.

“Since it is not necessary for Viacom or MTV to distribute the material in order to be in violation of the law, we call upon your committees to immediately investigate Viacom and MTV for the production of this material. Furthermore, we urge you in the strongest possible terms to compel the Attorney General to mount an investigation by the Department of Justice into whether the production of ‘Skins’ has violated federal law meant to protect minors from exploitation,” the group wrote to the chairs of the Congressional judiciary committees.

The group also criticized Taco Bell for advertising on the first episode of “Skins,” which was shown on Monday night.

A Taco Bell spokesman said Thursday evening, “We advertise on a variety of MTV programs that reach our core demographic of 18 to 34 year olds, which included the premiere episode of Skins. Upon further review, we’ve decided that the show is not a fit for our brand and have moved our advertising to other MTV programming.”

The one-two punch — the group’s letter and Taco Bell’s decision — drew attention from television networks. The Fox News commentators Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity both blasted MTV on Thursday night, and the morning shows on NBC, ABC and CBS all broadcast reports about the so-called “Skins” scandal on Friday morning.

News From: mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com