Earlier this week a class action lawsuit was filed against Taco Bell, alleging that their beef is actually only 36% meat and the rest is "extenders" and other non-meat substances. Taco Bell's President and Chief Concept Officer Greg Creed has released a new and more in-depth statement that goes into detail about the percentage of ingredients in the recipe, like how it contains 88% USDA-inspected quality beef. 
 
 "The lawsuit is bogus and filled with completely inaccurate facts. Our beef is 100% USDA inspected, just like the quality beef you would buy in a supermarket and prepare in your home. It then is slow-cooked and simmered with proprietary seasonings and spices to provide Taco Bell's signature taste and texture. Our seasoned beef recipe contains 88% quality USDA-inspected beef and 12% seasonings, spices, water and other ingredients that provide taste, texture and moisture. The lawyers got their facts wrong. We take this attack on our quality very seriously and plan to take legal action against them for making false statements about our products. There is no basis in fact or reality for this suit and we will vigorously defend the quality of our products from frivolous and misleading claims such as this." 
 
 What is in Taco Bell's recipe for seasoned beef? 
 
 "We're cooking with a proprietary recipe to give our seasoned beef flavor and texture, just like you would with any recipe you cook at home. 
 
 For example, when you make chili, meatloaf or meatballs, you add your own recipe of seasoning and spices to give the beef flavor and texture, otherwise, it would taste just like unseasoned ground beef. We do the same thing with our recipe for seasoned beef. 
 
 Our recipe for seasoned beef includes ingredients you'd find in your home or in the supermarket aisle today: 
 
 • 88% USDA-inspected quality beef 
 
 • 3-5% water for moisture 
 
 • 3-5% spices (including salt, chili pepper, onion powder, tomato powder, sugar, garlic powder, cocoa powder and a proprietary blend of Mexican spices and natural flavors). 
 
 • 3-5% oats, starch, sugar, yeast, citric acid, and other ingredients that contribute to the quality of our product. 
 
 Our seasoned beef contains no "extenders" to add volume, as some might use. For more information about our ingredients go to http://www.tacobell.com." 
 
 Greg Creed 
 
 President and Chief Concept Officer 
 
 Taco Bell Corp. ||||| While Taco Bell has been waging war on breakfast -- or sorry, duking it out with the rest of the fast food industry in what has been dubbed the "breakfast wars" of 2014 -- the chain quietly launched a new page on its website. This new page on TacoBell.com details the "other ingredients" in Taco Bell's beef. 
 
 Taco Bell proclaims that 88 percent of its beef consists of "Premium Beef," and 12 percent of it is made up of a "signature recipe." The "signature recipe" part is where things get shady, and Taco Bell has decided to clear things up -- or at least try to. 
 
 A new module on Taco Bell's site allows anyone who's curious to find out what's really in their taco beef. Viewers can click on some of the confusing ingredients and find out what the hard-to-pronounce words really mean. If you've ever wondered why oats are on the ingredient list for Taco Bell's beef, for example, you can now find out. Sort of. 
 
 If you're wondering what "trehalose" is, Taco Bell's got an answer for you -- albeit somewhat vague. "It’s a naturally occurring sugar that we use to improve the taste of our seasoned beef." And "natural flavoring?" Taco Bell "add[s] a black pepper flavor to enhance the taste." You read that correctly: "a black pepper flavor" -- not simply "black pepper." It sounded good in theory, but we're not sure how helpful this fact sheet actually is. 
 
 Taco Bell fell under scrutiny in 2011 for its "Taco Meat Filling." An Alabama-based law firm called Beasley Allen filed a lawsuit against Taco Bell, charging the chain with false advertising because its beef product didn't contain enough beef. The case was dismissed after Taco Bell adjusted its marketing and disclosed that "88 percent beef and 12 percent seasonings, spices, water and other ingredients." That may have satisfied the law firm and the general public for the time being, but 2014 is a different landscape. From calling for GMO labeling to ending mislabeled seafood, consumers are demanding more transparency across the board in the food industry. Knowing what ingredients are in their food is a critical part of that transparency effort. 
 
 The jury's still out on Taco Bell's latest effort to clarify what's in its beef. What do you think of Taco Bell's new fact page? 
 
 [h/t Business Insider] 
 
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– The drama over Taco Bell's meat-or-not just keeps getting better and better. After issuing a statement arguing that its meat was, in fact, meat, it has released another statement that attaches a number to that proclamation: "Our seasoned beef recipe contains 88% quality USDA-inspected beef." And that approach is just like mom's! Writes President Greg Creed, "When you make chili, meatloaf or meatballs, you add your own recipe of seasoning and spices to give the beef flavor and texture, otherwise, it would taste just like unseasoned ground beef." And he breaks down the remaining 12%, notes the Consumerist: 3%-5% each of water, spices, and "other ingredients" like oats, starch, and sugar. Click for more fast-food-ingredient drama—did you know McDonald's Fruit and Maple Oatmeal contains no maple?