Do you really know what's in your food? Apparently not too many of us do. Especially when it comes to hot dogs.
In 2014 Americans spent $2.5 billion on hot dogs, another $2.74 billion on dinner sausages, and over half a billion on breakfast sausages.
According to a study from Clear Labs, an independent food analytics startup, 10 percent of vegetarian hot dog products contain meat. Yes, the ONE thing that they are NOT supposed to have in it.
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But that's not all. The company found hygiene issues in four of its 21 vegetarian samples. It also found human DNA in 2 percent of its hot dog samples — and two-thirds of the vegetarian samples.
Overall, 14.4 percent of the hot dogs and sausages tested by Clear Foods “were problematic,” the company said.
Clear Foods is a company that “translates quantifiable molecular tests into actionable food data insights,” according to its website. All that really means is that Clear uses genetic sequencing to figure out just what’s in your lunch.
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Overall, the company found nutritional label inaccuracies, pork substitution and some unexpected ingredients, including chicken and lamb in it's hot dogs.
What You Should Know:
Today, hot dogs are usually processed in factories, where meat trimmings, spices, and other ingredients are chopped and blended into an emulsification and routed to automatic stuffers. The stuffers pump the emulsified hot dog mixture into casings. Then, long links of hot dogs are cooked in a smokehouse, cooled by being passed under a...
...water shower, and packaged. If variety meats, such as livers, kidneys, and hearts are among the ingredients in a hot dog or sausage, the label should state "with variety meats," and the particular ingredient should be listed on the package.
But don't worry, it wasn't all bad news. Clear gave high marks to a variety of manufacturers, both national and regional. Butterball, McCormick, Eckrich and Hebrew National led among national brands, each with a score of 96 out of 100, based on Clear’s formula.
As a matter of fact, the company named Oscar Mayer's Premium Jumbo Beef Franks as the best overall hot dog and named Butterball as the best overall maker of all hot dog and sausage products.
