Austin Woman Sues Torchy's Tacos, Saying a 'Cow Tooth' Came With Her Taco

Austin Woman Sues Torchy's Tacos, Saying a 'Cow Tooth' Came With Her Taco

A bite that hit something hard

An Austin woman says a takeout taco bit back. In a lawsuit, Nohemi Castillo alleges that one of the tacos she ordered had what appeared to be a COW TOOTH in it, "which she almost swallowed." The filing, which capitalizes "cow tooth," adds: "Obviously, Plaintiff was grossed out and sickened." She saw a doctor later that evening and was given prescriptions, according to the petition.

Filed this week in Travis County

The suit was filed this week in Travis County District Court, KXAN reported. The underlying order dates to June 9 — roughly four months before the case landed in court. Reports so far do not detail what passed between the two sides in the interim.

The order came from South Congress

Court documents identify the restaurant as Torchy's Tacos at 1822 South Congress Avenue in Austin, FOX 7 Austin reported. Castillo ordered takeout, and the taco at issue was a "Democrat" filled with beef barbacoa, according to MySA, which cited the petition.

Four claims, from negligence to federal food-safety law

The lawsuit accuses Torchy's of negligence, breach of implied warranties under the Texas UCC, violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and violations of the federal Food Safety Modernization Act. Torchy's failed to "properly inspect, prepare, or monitor food and taco meat to prevent foreign objects from entering the food product before placing it into the stream of commerce," the suit says. It also argues that "the food was not reasonably prepared, inspected, or delivered prior to consumption," and that had Castillo been told about the defect, she would never have bought the taco — or would at least have examined it first.

Up to $250,000, with a jury to set the number

Castillo is seeking up to $250,000 in damages, FOX 7 and MySA reported, with the final figure to be determined by a jury.

Torchy's: a review confirmed it was a cow tooth

A Torchy's Tacos spokesperson told KXAN on Wednesday evening that the company was "aware of the situation and take[s] all concerns about our food seriously." The statement continued: "We source the highest quality food available, which means our barbacoa comes from natural beef cheek that we source from a supplier. Upon receiving the guest complaint, we conducted a thorough review and identified the item as a cow tooth." The spokesperson called the possibility of stray material "quite rare." FOX 7 said it reached out to the chain for comment and had not heard back at the time of its report.

Barbacoa from an outside supplier

According to the same statement, the barbacoa is made from natural beef cheek bought from an outside supplier, and the company has "partnered with our supplier to reinforce their internal procedures to prevent this from happening in the future."

Why beef cheek hides stray teeth

Beef cheek sits against the animal's mouth and teeth, and the trimming and deboning stage is where small fragments are most easily missed — the classic setup for a foreign object in a beef product. Pointing at supplier processing is plausible, but the legal exposure still lands on the restaurant and the chain.

Who this touches

For Torchy's, the dollar figure is modest; the reputational one is the concern. The chain began as an Austin food truck in 2006, moved into brick-and-mortar locations from 2010, and now counts more than 125 restaurants, with Mike Rypka as CEO. Earlier this year it closed four stores on Feb. 3, exiting Columbus, Ohio, along with two Florida locations. For diners, the case puts a familiar question back on the table: who has to prove what when takeout food goes wrong.

What comes next

Torchy's must respond within the deadline, after which the case moves into discovery. The intake and trimming records for that June 9 batch of beef cheek are likely to be central, and the damage award, if any, will come down to a jury.