Taco Bell has come under scrutiny in the past for some of their ingredients, so we thought
we'd take a closer look at those ingredients that make their way into your favorite foods.
Believe it or not?
Some of the things we learned surprised us in a good way.
Fast food breakfasts aren't exactly healthy, but there is something in Taco Bell's breakfast
foods that you can feel good about.
That's because, in 2015, Taco Bell joined a slew of other restaurants and announced
that it would start exclusively serving cage-free eggs by the end of 2016.
Cage-free eggs aren't necessarily healthier for humans, but according to the Humane Society
of the United States, Taco Bell's switch meant that 500,000 hens each year would see their
conditions improving.
How?
When hens live cage-free, they're able to engage in more of their natural, instinctive
animal behaviors, like spreading their wings, getting exercise, nesting, and perching.
And everyone can get on board with supporting responsibly raised food!
"Can tacos get anymore kick butt than this?"
"Oh, they're about to, alright!"
Taco Bell's progressive poultry policies extend beyond their commitment to using cage-free
eggs.
In 2016, they announced that in 2017, they would cease using chicken from suppliers that
treat their animals with antibiotics.
And in 2019, Taco Bell announced it was going to be making strides toward taking the same
measures with its beef, which was going to take some effort.
Since they work with suppliers, not producers, there were a few extra steps, but they were
confident a 25 percent reduction in antibiotic usage would be fairly quick.
Why is it important for restaurants to serve chicken and beef raised without antibiotics?
According to the CDC, the overuse and misuse of antibiotics is creating a full-blown public
health crisis.
That's because using too many antibiotics in our food supply can lead to the development
of drug-resistant bacteria that can lead to foodborne illnesses, and it can also create
antibiotic-resistant bacteria which are harder to treat and more dangerous for those who
fall ill.
Those who are already wary of Taco Bell might not be surprised to hear the chain uses high
fructose corn syrup in several of its menu items, but those who have been following Taco
Bell's progress over the years might be surprised.
While it made an announcement in 2015 that it would be removing high fructose corn syrup
from most menu items at the end of that year, there was a big caveat.
The change didn't extend to Taco Bell's beverages and co-branded items, which means that their
sodas and frozen drinks, depending on your order, may still contain high fructose corn
syrup, as may items that are made with products from other brands, like the Strawberry Skittles
Freeze and Airhead Blue Raspberry Freeze.
There's still some disagreement about just how bad high fructose corn syrup really is
for you.
It's chemically similar to refined white table sugar, but there has been a correlation with
increased use of high fructose corn syrup in foods and metabolic health problems.
And that?
It's food for thought.
Taco Bell got a lot of press for making a move toward using more natural ingredients
in its foods, so what's with potassium sorbate, which pops up in multiple places on the menu?
Potassium sorbate is a salt derived from sorbic acid, and while you can find sorbic acid in
some natural foods, like mountain ash berries, the type used in most commercially-made products
is typically created synthetically in a lab.
That's because it's used a lot, mostly as a preservative.
It fights the growth of bacteria and mold in food and is odorless and tasteless, so
it can be used in a variety of foods without altering their flavor.
The FDA also recognized it as safe for use in food, so you can rest easy seeing Taco
Bell uses potassium sorbate in dozens of items on the menu, from the Cinnabon Delights to
the avocado ranch sauce.
Vital wheat gluten is derived from wheat flour.
Basically, it's made by hydrating flour, which causes the gluten to activate, then removing
everything but the gluten, which is then dried and ground.
Gluten is what provides structure to baked goods, and while you wouldn't bake a loaf
of bread with vital wheat gluten and no flour, you can add this wheat gluten to bread doughs
to make them more elastic and chewy.
Taco Bell uses vital wheat gluten in a couple of their bread products, like their Chalupa
shells, flour tortillas, and Gordita flatbread.
And this is a good one.
Think of how annoying it is to be eating a taco or burrito and have the tortilla rip
or the shell break.
It's the vital wheat gluten that helps strengthen the structure and elasticity of these products,
so you can eat lunch in your car without getting ground beef on your work pants.
"I'm serious about this stuff."
The shredded yellow cheese on top of your taco, melted in your Quesarito, and stuffed
in your burrito is in fact good old, very real, cheddar cheese.
Cheddar cheese is also used in Taco Bell's Doritos Locos taco nacho cheese shell, so
there's none of the fake stuff on these tacos.
Still skeptical?
The ingredient list for Taco Bell's cheddar cheese is short and simple: there's cheddar
cheese, and anti-caking agent.
But what's that?
Anti-caking agents are used to keep ingredients from fusing together.
They can be found in things like baking soda, powdered sugar, and, yes, cheese.
But what is it exactly?
Cellulose is often used as an anti-caking agent for cheese.
It stops the cheese, grated or shredded, from fusing back into a solid block or clump.
Cellulose is usually made of wood pulp and plant fibers.
It's a fine powder, and the FDA allows cheese products to contain up to four percent cellulose,
though the average is one percent.
Still worried?
Don't be, they've rated anti-caking agents "Generally Recognized as Safe."
Taco Bell revamped its ingredient list in 2015, announcing that it would be removing
all artificial colors from its various menu items.
But several of their most popular items, including the cheddar cheese, Doritos Locos taco nacho
cheese shells, nacho cheese sauce, red tortilla strips, and three cheese blend, have kept
that oh-so-distinctive bright, bright color.
That's because Taco Bell switched from artificial colors to annatto.
Annatto is a type of seed that comes from the achiote, an evergreen tree from South
America.
Each tree grows prickly pods, and within it are several red seeds.
When cooked, this annatto gives foods a yellow or orange color.
It's been used in traditional Central, South American, and Caribbean dishes for hundreds
of years, and now it's used as a natural alternative to artificial colorings.
You can buy annatto seeds whole, or buy them ground as powdered achiote.
They have a mild, earthy flavor, but are mostly used to simply color dishes, just like Taco
Bell does.
Soybean oil pops up frequently on Taco Bell's menu, in everything from their sauces and
Chalupa shells to their Cinnabon Delights and scrambled eggs.
Oil is a necessity when it comes to fast food, and as far as oils go, soybean is a fairly
healthy choice.
It's mostly made of polyunsaturated fats, is rich in Vitamin K, and contains omega-3
fatty acids.
Refined soybean oil is also, surprisingly, safe for most people with soy allergies to
consume.
That's because when the oil is refined, the proteins that trigger the allergic reactions
are removed.
There are some people who think that soybean oil isn't as healthy as it's made out to be.
They point to concerns over its high linoleic acid content and possible correlation with
metabolic diseases like diabetes.
However, these folks seem to be in the minority, and the vast majority of research points to
soybean oil as being relatively healthy, and safe to consume in moderation.
"So, now all restaurants are Taco Bell."
"No way."
When we think of Taco Bell's cheesiest products, we tend to think of their nacho cheese sauce
and their shredded cheddar cheese.
But there's another type of cheese on their menu that lends a specific flavor to one of
their most iconic products.
Romano cheese is used to make their Doritos Locos nacho cheese taco shells, which is unsurprising
when you know that it's also an ingredient in nacho cheese flavored Doritos chips.
But what exactly is Romano cheese, which is apparently a key ingredient in giving nacho
cheese Doritos their signature flavor?
Romano cheese is a hard cheese that originated in Italy.
It has a sharp flavor that's similar to parmesan, though it's said to be stronger and saltier,
which you can taste in every cheesy blast of a Doritos Locos taco shell.
There are three different kinds of Romano cheese, and while Taco Bell doesn't specify
which type of Romano cheese it uses, chances are it's the most cost-effective, which is
made with cow's milk.
They also use cheddar cheese and powdered buttermilk to round out the flavors of the
Doritos Locos taco shell.
"Sorry, they're already gone."
"No, they're not.
You left the best part."
"No, I'm pretty sure they're…"
"Mmm cheese."
You may be most familiar with yeast as an ingredient that makes bread rise, but it can
be used as a flavoring agent, too.
In fact, Taco Bell includes torula yeast in several of its menu items, such as those with
fire grilled chicken, red sauce, sausage crumbles, seasoned beef, seasoned rice, and shredded
chicken.
Torula yeast is actually a byproduct of the paper industry.
It's a yeast that grows on wood alcohols, which is then dried and sold as a food additive.
Torula yeast has a savory, smoky flavor sometimes described as almost meaty.
It's inactive, so you can't use it to bake bread or make dough rise, but it can be used
to enhance the umami of other foods.
For instance, Taco Bell's seasoned rice is vegetarian, but it has a savory flavor that
one might usually associate with rice made with chicken broth.
You're probably familiar with hair conditioner, but have you ever heard of dough conditioner?
It might be one of the most surprising ingredients you'll spot when looking closely at Taco Bell's
menu.
Dough conditioner can be found in several of their flour-based food items, including
Chalupa shells, flour tortillas, and Gordita flatbread.
Commercially, dough conditioners are used for a multitude of reasons.
They can be used to help yeast work more effectively, to help make sure breads have a more uniform
texture, to increase elasticity and chew, to encourage the development of gluten, and
some can help prevent bread from going stale for an extended period of time.
Har-core home cooks use it, too.
You might not be able to find dough conditioner in the baking aisle of your local grocery
store, but if you're serious about baking you can try getting some online.
It can improve the texture of dense home-baked loaves so that they're lighter and fluffier,
more like their store bought counterparts.
These are all things that make sense for Taco Bell, which is trying to mass-produce uniform
tortillas and Chalupa shells that don't tear or shatter as soon as they're filled with
ingredients.
It also makes for products that are easier to keep on hand for long periods of time without
them turning stale.
Taco Bell has faced several controversies over their seasoned ground beef, and most
famously, it was once sued in a class-action lawsuit that claimed their seasoned beef only
contained 36 percent beef, but that also turned out not to be true.
In fact, Taco Bell's seasoned beef recipe is made up of 88 percent beef.
The other 12 percent of ingredients include seasonings like chili pepper, torula yeast,
and cocoa.
But curiously, Taco Bell's seasoned beef also contains oats.
Why?
It turns out, the oats are there to help texturize the beef to the chain's preferences.
As far as food additives go, oats are pretty healthy.
In fact, some home cooks even swap oats for a portion of the beef in dishes like meatloaf
and chili to lighten it up, reduce fat, add fiber, and make it just a tad bit healthier,
believe it or not.
Oats aren't the only thing that gives the fast food chain's beef it's signature texture,
which is fairly mushy with small crumbles, which are far easier to eat while on-the-go
than looser beef chunks.
Soy lecithin and cornstarch are also added to Taco Bell's seasoned beef to improve the
texture.
So, now you know, and it's not nearly as scary as you might have thought.
Taco Bell, anyone?
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