A trip to Torchy's Tacos on South Congress Avenue turned into a lawsuit after an Austin woman says she bit into a cow tooth hidden inside her barbacoa taco and nearly swallowed it. Nohemi Castillo filed suit against Torchy's Tacos and its parent company, Success Foods Management Group, LLC, in Travis County court on October 13, seeking up to $250,000 in damages, with the final amount to be determined by a jury.
According to MySA, Castillo ordered takeout on June 9 from the Torchy's location at 1822 South Congress Avenue, a spot that doubles as the chain's flagship brick-and-mortar restaurant and has a sprawling outdoor patio, according to Torchy's menu-and-hours website. Castillo alleges she found what appeared to be a cow tooth in her Democrat taco and nearly swallowed it, per the lawsuit. The Democrat is one of Torchy's signature offerings, built from shredded beef barbacoa topped with avocado, queso fresco, cilantro, diced onions, and lime on a corn tortilla.
Castillo says she flagged the issue with a manager on the spot, but according to the lawsuit, nothing was done in response. She visited a doctor later that evening and received prescriptions, per the filing. The suit further alleges that Torchy's knew about various problems in its sold food products before selling the taco.
What the Lawsuit Claims
The complaint accuses Torchy's Tacos of negligence, breach of warranty, and food business safety violations, alleging violations of both the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the federal Food Safety Modernization Act. Under the DTPA, plaintiffs alleging deceptive practices or warranty breaches can pursue actual economic damages, mandatory court costs, attorney fees, and up to triple damages if a violation is proven to have been committed knowingly, according to Texas Law Help.
MySA reported that it had contacted Torchy's Tacos for comment but received no response before publication. Since then, the chain has spoken publicly about the case: following the filing of the lawsuit, Torchy's issued an official statement confirming that an internal investigation verified the object was in fact a cow tooth originating from natural beef cheek meat supplied for its barbacoa, according to FOX 7 Austin. Barbacoa is traditionally prepared from cattle cheeks, where teeth can sometimes remain embedded during processing, the station notes. Torchy's said it takes food concerns seriously and had partnered with its supplier to reinforce internal procedures, per the same account.
How Texas Law Treats Bones and Teeth in Food
Whether Castillo's claim succeeds remains to be seen. A jury in Castillo's case will likely have to weigh whether a customer eating a shredded beef taco should reasonably anticipate finding an intact cow tooth, or whether its presence amounts to a breach of implied warranty, negligence, and a DTPA violation.
Inspection technology firm TDI PackSys has noted that bone and tooth fragments can enter processed meat during slaughter or mechanical deboning, and that X-ray imaging can help lower risks. The firm also lists deboning mistakes, slaughter contamination, and machinery problems among the common causes of bone contamination, and warns that bone fragments in food can cause choking, throat lacerations, or death.
Not the First Fight Over Natural Food Hazards
Castillo's case joins a broader, unsettled legal debate over how much responsibility restaurants bear for natural animal remnants in food. In July 2024, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in *Berkheimer v. REKM, LLC* that bones are natural to meat and consumers should guard against them, affirming summary judgment against a diner who choked on a chicken bone found in a boneless wing. That ruling underscores how differently courts across the country can treat similar claims.
Torchy's Tacos first opened in 2006, and its parent company is Success Foods Management Group, LLC.
