AUSTIN, Texas - An Austin woman filed a lawsuit against Torchy's Tacos after she found a tooth in her food.
The backstory:
According to court documents, on June 9, Nohemi Castillo said she ordered takeout tacos from Torchy's Tacos at 1822 South Congress Avenue.
She said she almost swallowed what appeared to be a cow tooth inside her taco. Castillo said she was "grossed out and sickened," and had to visit a doctor that night. She received some prescription medication.
Credit: Court documents
The store manager was notified of the incident. The lawsuit said it was unclear if he did anything to fix the problem with the food.
Dig deeper:
The lawsuit states that Torchy's knew about "various problems contained in their sold food products" before Castillo was sold the taco.
The lawsuit is accusing Torchy's Tacos of:
- Negligence
- Breach of Implied Warranties (Texas UCC)
- Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA)
- Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
"[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.
What's next:
Castillo is seeking up to $250,000 in damages. However, the amount will be determined by a jury.
Torchy's Tacos responds
The other side:
Torchy's Tacos sent a statement on the incident:
"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. Upon receiving the guest complaint, we conducted a thorough review and identified the item as a cow tooth. 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."
The Source: Information from court documents: Nohemi Castillo v. Torchy's Tacos and Success Foods Management Group LLC d/b/a Torchy's Tacos and from a Torchy's Tacos statement