In the 90s, FDA made Taco Bell increase the amount of bee...

Taco Bell was kind enough to tell us what's in the other 12 percent of its beef: "they do have weird names, but they're all safe and approved by the FDA," says Taco Bell.

April 29, 2014— -- After Taco Bell started telling the public its beef is 88 percent beef, customers were left to wonder, what's the other 12 percent? They need wonder no more. Taco Bell, owned by Yum! Brands, introduced in 2011 an explainer on its website to describe what the other 12 percent is. The company states on the website that they "do have weird names," but they're all "safe and approved by the FDA."

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.

Taco meat filling needs to have at least 40 percent beef, according to the USDA. Taco Bell's internal labeling on the meat product is "taco meat filling," but Taco Bell isn't directly selling that "meat filling" to the public.

A law firm that claimed fast-food ... a multimillion dollar campaign defending its beef, which it says has always been 88 percent meat....

There are another 23 ingredients in their beef seasoning recipe, things named Torula Yeast, Disodium Inosinate, and "Natural Smoke Flavor," the latter of which they perhaps intentionally don't address seeing as some consider it to be toxic. But all of those they highlight are considered safe according to the FDA, and registered dieticians and chemists also give them a thumbs up. But perhaps all these explanations are missing the point. Maybe Taco Bell shouldn't feel defensive because they have to explain the other 12%. Maybe they should, instead, work towards raising the percentage of non-beef in their beef.

Digging into that 12% proprietary ... filler-free, the key part is Taco Bell exceeded the federal requirements that a product can be labeled as “beef” when it contains at least 40% meat....

It was a complicated and messy ... their ingredients. Taco Bell, on the other hand, made it clear it was dropped because the claims were insanely false....

Which, it turns out, is mostly beef, but not entirely; 12% of the “beef” the chain uses is actually a blend of other ingredients and spices. And that’s fine, for the record, especially because the food tastes great.