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A “grossed-out” diner nearly swallowed a cow tooth that was stuffed in a takeout taco from a Texas-based chain restaurant, a new lawsuit claims.
Nohemi Castillo is suing Torchy’s Tacos after she discovered a cow tooth in a “Democrat” taco — consisting of beef barbacoa made with beef cheek — from a South Congress location of the fast-casual Tex-Mex restaurant on June 9, KVUE reported.
The restaurant offers both Democrat and Republican tacos, according to its menu.
Castillo was “grossed out and sickened” by the foreign cow canine and had to visit a doctor that night, where she was prescribed medication, the lawsuit obtained by the outlet said.
The manager of the Torchy’s was informed of the unexpected tooth, but it was “unclear what, if anything, he did to remedy the problem within his food and under his control,” the suit claimed.
Castillo is suing Torchy’s for up to $250,000 as determined by a jury, alleging the restaurant negligently sold a product that did not meet food safety standards, the outlet reported.
“[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 lawsuit said, per Fox7.
Torchy’s confirmed in a statement to the outlet that the object was a cow tooth and vowed to step up internal procedures with their supplier to prevent another similar mishap.
“We are aware of the situation and take all concerns about our food seriously. We source the highest quality food available, which means our barbacoa comes from natural beef cheek that we source from a supplier,” a Torchy’s spokesperson said.
“Food safety is a top priority, and we maintain robust food handling, preparation, and quality control procedures. Upon receiving the guest complaint, we conducted a thorough review and identified the item as a cow tooth,” the statement continued.
“This can occasionally happen when processing the meat, though it is quite rare. We have partnered with our supplier to reinforce their internal procedures to prevent this from happening in the future. “
Torchy’s did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.