SAN ANTONIO - A San Antonio meat vendor responded after a woman's Facebook post about finding what looked like "teeth" in her barbacoa tacos went viral.
The Laxson Company said it is aware of Courtney Aguilar's post earlier this week, which has since been made private, and confirmed that the product in question is "not teeth or bone at all."
"It is actually beef lips," Laxson plant manager Bill Roegelein said.
The barbacoa tacos were served at the El Rincon Mexican Restaurant in Pflugerville, Texas.
Aguilar posted a photo of the barbacoa with the caption: "When you order barbacoa tacos but get teeth instead."
Roegelein said although this part of the cow is not usually associated with barbacoa, it is edible and approved for consumption.
He released the following statement:
"We admit cow lips are not the most attractive food item and can resemble teeth. Unfortunately, it made its way into this customer's dish. Our products standards are high. We meticulously scan our product prior to packaging.
In this instance, an edible-but-unexpected part of the cow made its way into the packaging of our 100 percent Cheek Meat Barbacoa. We've spoken to the restaurant owner about his concerns. And we have reinforced our standards of excellence with our plant managers."
El Rincon said it also apologized to the customer.
The United States Department of Agriculture also has guidelines for cow lips.