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FOOD FOR ALL

FOOD FOR ALL

What does ‘Food for All’ mean at Taco Bell?

At Taco Bell, when we say “we’re feeding peoples’ lives with unexpected good,” we mean it.

We make bold food you can’t get anywhere else. It’s food that ignites passion. It’s food you want to talk about. It’s food that you’ve got to have and can’t wait to eat again. And it always delivers more for your money.

For 15 years, we’ve been on a journey evolving our menu to provide food that’s customizable to fit your lifestyle and to leave a lighter footprint on the communities around us. We use ingredients that are simple to understand, without sacrificing flavor. Whether you’re looking for options that are vegetarian*, made without gluten**, high protein, lower calorie or fat, or in the mood for something indulgent, Taco Bell has food for all. Check out some of our favorite ways to eat Taco Bell for any lifestyle:

We Believe Transparency is Key.

We’re not big on secrets. That’s why, we always make it easy to learn what’s in your food. Back in 2005, we were one of the first quick service restaurants to post full nutrition information and ingredient statements online. Since then, we have incorporated a (V) symbol on our menuboards in restaurants to remove the guesswork for our vegetarian customers and help them locate options that fit their lifestyle. We have also expanded our website to include allergen information and a nutrition calculator to help you find options and customize your own creations to fit your lifestyle and make an informed decision. Check out our online tools and resources:

We Use High Quality, Sustainable Ingredients.

For us, it’s not enough to offer affordable, craveable, innovative choices. It also has to be food you feel good about, made with ingredients you can understand. Over the years, we’ve made significant improvements to our food to offer you just that. While we continue to challenge ourselves to push the boundaries further, some of our biggest U.S. milestones so far include:

  • Simplifying our ingredients: We removed artificial flavors and colors and replaced them with natural alternatives, where possible, and we removed artificial trans fat and high fructose corn syrup.

  • Reducing sodium: Since 2008, we have reduced sodium across the menu by 15 percent, but we’re not stopping there. We’re pushing ourselves to reduce sodium further, for a total of a 25 percent reduction across the menu by 2025.

  • Sourcing sustainable palm oil: We have removed any unsustainable palm oil from our food and are committed to only sourcing sustainable palm oil moving forward.

  • Using 100% cage-free eggs: Whether you’re ordering eggs in one of our delicious breakfast burritos or ordering something else later in the day (including limited time offerings) that uses eggs as an ingredient, rest assured that we only source 100% cage-free eggs*** in all U.S. and Canada restaurants. We even received the Good Egg Award in 2020, awarded by Compassion in World Farming, for this very thing.

  • Sourcing quality proteins: We have been committed to sourcing chicken raised without antibiotics important to human medicine since 2017, and we are working to reduce antibiotics important to human medicine in our beef supply.

  • Offering better beverages: By 2022, at least 50% of our medium fountain beverages will be 100 calories and 20 grams of sugar or less. We’re working hard to achieve that goal. Interested in trying one of these better beverages? Try the Mtn Dew Baja Blast Zero Sugar or Pepsi Zero Sugar, in restaurants now.

To see all of our major milestones, check out our full timeline here. Or, for more details on a specific topic, check out our FAQ’s here.

Meet Our Registered Dietitians

Passion for good food runs deep at Taco Bell. We have a hard-working team of chefs, food scientists, food safety and quality assurance professionals, and other culinary experts that make up our Food Innovation Team. Together, they are constantly collaborating and innovating to bring to life the next ‘big thing’ at Taco Bell. Within that team, sits our Global Nutrition and Sustainability Team, laser-focused on bringing balance, transparency, and choice to the menu. In short, they make creavable food better and better food more craveable while also using creativity to leave a lighter footprint on the communities around us. Meet the fearless leader of this team, Missy.

Missy, Sr. Manager of Global Nutrition & Sustainability, is a 15-year seasoned professional within the food industry and she is championing options that provide unexpected good, one taco at a time. Missy has always had a passion for food and nutrition and its impact on the environment, and sits at the intersection of those worlds in her role leading nutrition and sustainability efforts at Taco Bell. She plays a big role in how Taco Bell creates food that is fun, innovative and craveable; food you want to eat again; and food that fits customers’ evolving lifestyles. Missy led the development of the Power Menu, a menu featuring high-protein bowls and burritos under 500 calories, designed to fill you up without weighing you down. She also brought customers a vegetarian menu certified by the American Vegetarian Association – the first of its kind in the QSR industry. Over the years, she has served as the driving force behind Taco Bell’s commitment to simplify ingredients, reduce sodium across the menu and all animal welfare and antimicrobial stewardship initiatives. Most recently, she led the global efforts to leave a lighter footprint, announcing Taco Bell’s Global Packaging and Recycling commitment. Because of her hard work, she was named an American Food Hero by EatingWell Magazine in 2020. Her favorite menu hack is ordering the Bean Burrito online, removing onions, adding tomatoes, selecting ‘get it grilled’ and smothering it in Diablo Sauce. We may be biased, but we think Missy has one of the Best Jobs Ever.

But, she can’t do it alone. She leads a small but mighty team of four, including a second registered dietitian, Marissa.

Marissa, North America Nutrition Specialist, is the second-ever in-house dietitian at Taco Bell. Over the past four years, she has spearheaded the launch of the Food for All Fam – a network of registered dietitians who help Taco Bell keep our finger on the pulse of issues that are important to our guests, like reducing added sugars and sodium in our food. She led Taco Bell’s commitment to offer better beverages, and received the Produce Excellence in Foodservice award in 2020 for her innovative use of produce across the menu. Always cooking up something delicious and innovative in the test kitchen, she leads product development of the vegetarian menu and is the proud creator of the Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme. Her favorite menu hack is ordering the Cheesy Gordita Crunch online and customizing it by ‘making it vegetarian’ to swap seasoned beef for black beans and adding tomatoes.

*Taco Bell’s vegetarian menu items are certified by the American Vegetarian Association are lacto-ovo, allowing consumption of dairy and eggs but not animal byproducts. We may use the same frying oil to prepare menu items that could contain meat. Vegetarian and meat ingredients are handled in common, and cross contact may occur, which may not be acceptable to certain types of vegetarian diets. Neither Taco Bell®, our employees, our franchisees nor the AVA assume any responsibility for such cross contact.

** Taco Bell does not claim “gluten-free” for any of its food. Some Taco Bell items are made without gluten containing ingredients, but are prepared in common kitchen areas, including common fryer oil, risking gluten exposure. Taco Bell does not recommend products for people with celiac disease. People with gluten intolerances or sensitivities should exercise judgment when ordering. Talk to your healthcare professional about what Taco Bell items are right for you.

*** Eggs are certified cage-free based on production standards set by American Humane.