Secret ingredient in Taco Bell beef shocks fast-food fans – and it’s SWEET not savory

TACO Bell fans were shocked to discover the sweet ingredient the fast-food chain uses in its beef.

The fast-food chain revealed in 2014 that beef itself only accounts for 88 percent of the ingredient list for the seasoned menu staple. 

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Taco Bell ingredients list reveals the seasoned beef that fills its tacos has some unexpected ingredients like cocoa powder.[/caption]

Recipe details posted on the company’s website offer insight into the remaining 12 percent, revealing that cocoa powder is mixed into the seasoned beef. 

“We believe it’s important that consumers make informed decisions about what they eat, and so for many years have provided details of our ingredients on our website,” Taco Bell representative Rob Poetsche told ABCNews.com.

Other ingredients in the dish include tomato paste, oats, and caramel color. 

Taco Bell says the caramel color and cocoa powder are both used to enhance the color. 

Matlodextrin, which Taco Bell says is a “mildly sweet sugar” found in natural sodas, is also mixed in with the beef. 

Beyond the color-enhancing ingredients, the company says sodium phosphates are used to give the seasoned beef its texture.

In 2011, Taco Bell started providing more specifics on what exactly was in the seasoned beef after it was hit with a lawsuit alleging that there wasn’t enough beef in the taco filler to meet USDA requirements. 

Throughout the ordeal, Taco Bell refuted the allegations and maintained that it did meet the qualifications for beef.

The company subsequently pulled back the curtain on its ingredient least to show the seasoned beef was 88 percent meat.

After the revelation, the plaintiffs dropped their suit.

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Taco Bell’s increased transparency coincided with a lawsuit accusing the company of not having enough beef to call it seasoned beef.[/caption]