A Cow Tooth Inside a Taco: Texas Woman Sues Popular Chain for $250,000

A Texas woman who says she nearly swallowed an entire cow tooth at lunch has sued the popular restaurant chain Torchy's Tacos, in a case where the restaurant itself has confirmed that the object found in the food really was a cow tooth. The plaintiff is Nohemi Castillo.

According to the court filing, the incident took place on June 9. Castillo bought takeout from the chain's South Congress Avenue location in Austin. Her order included the chain's 'Democrat' tacos, and she alleges she nearly swallowed the tooth while eating the barbacoa.

The lawsuit was filed on October 13 in Travis County District Court. A witness statement provided by Castillo's attorney, Scott Vasquez, describes the moment.

The witness wrote that while they were eating, Castillo suddenly cried out. Turning to her, the colleague saw her pulling something out of her mouth and saying she thought it was a bone. Holding her left cheek and examining the object, she then concluded it looked like a tooth.

Torchy's Tacos confirmed the discovery in a statement to Austin television station KVUE. 'Upon receiving the guest complaint, we conducted a thorough review and identified the item as a cow tooth,' the company said. 'This can occasionally happen when processing the meat, though it is quite rare.'

The restaurant explained that its barbacoa is made from natural beef cheek sourced from a supplier, and that it has partnered with the supplier to reinforce internal procedures to prevent a recurrence.

Castillo's attorney Vasquez tells a different story about the response. He says the company did not acknowledge to him that the object was a cow tooth until the story attracted local media attention in October, roughly four months after the incident. He released photographs of the tooth beside a tape measure, showing its sizable dimensions, and another photograph in the court filing shows the object on aluminium foil beside taco meat.

The lawsuit says Castillo was disgusted and sickened by the discovery and visited a doctor later that evening, where she received prescriptions. The complaint alleges medical expenses, physical pain, mental anguish and other damages.

Castillo is suing Torchy's Tacos and Success Foods Management Group, which does business as Torchy's Tacos, alleging the defendants failed to properly prepare, inspect and distribute the food before selling it. The suit also alleges failure to adequately monitor the meat supplier, breach of implied warranties that food is fit for consumption, and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and federal food safety requirements.

Castillo contends she would not have bought the meal, or would have examined it more closely, had she known about the alleged defect. She is seeking monetary relief of $250,000 or less, with the final award to be determined by a jury.

Vasquez also says he has become aware of other people reporting similar experiences with Torchy's since the story received attention, although those accounts have not been independently verified. He characterised the company's earlier responses as limited in information while shifting blame to others.

Torchy's maintains that it took the complaint seriously and conducted a thorough review. 'We are aware of the situation and take all concerns about our food seriously,' the company said. The outcome now rests with the court.