One may ask, “What does a taco have to do with quality?” Ask Taco Bell’s president Greg Creed, and I’m sure he will tell you a lot. On Jan. 19, a lawsuit was filed against Taco Bell claiming the company’s beef is only 35 percent ground beef and 65 percent other ingredients, such as binders, extenders, preservatives, and other additives. Taco Bell has responded, stating that its beef is 88-percent quality USDA-inspected beef and 12 percent other ingredients, such as water, oats, seasoning, and other items one would find at home. You can find Taco Bell’s complete list of ingredients on the Taco Bell website.

Putting my quality hat on for a minute, I see a couple of quality assurance issues with this case. It is my understanding that Taco Bell operates a total quality management (TQM) system within its operations. A company’s quality management system has a couple of functions, such as ensuring that customer, statutory, and regulatory requirements are met. According to the U.S.

 …