TacoBell.com Many of us have heard rumors that Taco Bell's beef is considered "Grade D," or that their beef is actually considered vegan because it contains so little real animal meat. 
 
 But what are the facts? 
 
 The fast-food restaurant has taken an extra step in helping consumers get over their fast-food fears. There's actually a page on TacoBell.com (which has been up since 2011 but just recently making the internet rounds) that helps explain those "unpronounceable" ingredients included in their seasoned beef. Check it out here and see some examples below. 
 
 Chemicals with crazy sounding names are found in all kinds of everyday foods. They make up the compounds that give the foods taste and smell, as well as what give them their nutritional properties. One example is the scary sounding "Ascorbic Acid," which is actually just Vitamin C. 
 
 The "ingredient list" on a banana, for example, would contain dozens of "unpronounceable" ingredients. 
 
 As for their beef, Taco Bell says: "Our seasoned beef recipe consists of 88% Premium Beef and 12% Signature Recipe. All of our ingredients are listed on our ingredient statement page, and you can learn more about these ingredients and the Taco Bell meat grade by clicking on a topic below." 
 
 Here's the list of ingredients in the Taco Bell seasoned beef recipe. Beef is actually the first ingredient: TacoBell.com As for the "Grade D" accusation, they say "Although that's funny, the answer is NO. In fact, there's no such grade given by the USDA for beef." 
 
 Here are a few of the other explanations that Taco Bell gives on its website for the various ingredients. For example: ||||| You are leaving this Taco Bell® website and going to a site operated by a third party. This link is provided as a convenience to you. Taco Bell® does not control the third party that operates this site or the manner in which the third party might use your information. Before submitting information on the third party's website, we encourage you to read its privacy policy and terms of use. 
 
 You are leaving the website created for the U.S. audience, and going to a non-U.S. website. By accessing this website, you understand that it is operated under different laws, and you agree that your use of the site may be subject to the laws of a foreign jurisdiction. ||||| 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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– Taco Bell confirmed back in 2011 that its beef is made up of 88% actual beef, but now the company is explaining exactly what that mysterious other 12% is. Some of the non-beef ingredients "do have weird names," but all of them are "completely safe and approved by the FDA," Taco Bell explains on a new page titled, "What Are Those Other Ingredients?" The page goes on to explain each ingredient, like so: "Isn't cellulose a fancy term for wood?" it asks, and then answers, "Cellulose is a safe carbohydrate found in the cell walls of plants and helps with water and oil binding." Other weirdly named ingredients are used to improve taste (trehalose, maltodextrin, and torula yeast), reduce sodium levels (potassium chloride, a common salt substitute), and bind the finished product together (soy lecithin), among other things. And then, of course, there are less-weird ingredients, like salt, pepper, and spices—although the Huffington Post finds it odd that one of the ingredients is "a black pepper flavor," rather than simply "black pepper." What about fillers? The company says it doesn't use any, and the oats that are included in the ingredient list simply help keep the beef moist. As for the 88% of the beef that is actually beef, no, it is not "Grade D"—in fact, Taco Bell notes, there is no such USDA beef grade. "We use the same quality beef used in all ground beef (like you'd find in the grocery store)," the page reads. So should you keep eating at Taco Bell? A chemist tells ABC News, "There's nothing on this list I have a problem eating." But Business Insider offers a caveat: The ingredients listed are still high in sodium and fat, and most of them are, of course, processed. (The news comes as Taco Bell's parent company prepares to launch a gourmet spin-off.)