Hot dogs are as American as apple pie, pizza or hamburgers. However, you may be gobbling up human DNA the next time you take a bite out of that freshly grilled frankfurter. A recent report by food watchdog company, Clear Food, uncovered some frightening facts about the all-American hot dog.
Clear Food analyzes food items ingredient by ingredient to give consumers a clear picture of what they are actually eating. Their slogan, “See your food in a whole new light” is somewhat of an understatement after what they discovered in hot dogs.
They recently posted “The Hot Dog Report,” an analysis of the nation’s hot dogs, which included 345 hot dogs sold at 10 retailers, covering 75 different brands. According to the report, 14.4 percent of the hot dogs in question had health safety issues, and “problems included substitutions and hygienic issues.”
Clear Food defined substitutions as “evidence of meats not found on labels, an absence of ingredients advertised on labels, and meat in some vegetarian products.” They also discovered human DNA in two percent of the samples. Yes, human DNA! Two-thirds of the human DNA was found in vegetarian products.
In response to The Hot Dog Report’s findings, Janet Riley, president of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council stated that Clear Food “has said very little about its sample collection procedure,” according to news outlets. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, along with other media outlets, has been unable to reach Clear Food representatives for a clearer picture of their findings.
Riley did however comment in a news report, “It’s entirely possible that the human DNA found could be linked back to the company’s [Clear Food’s] own staff.” The Hot Dog Report also found that 10 percent of all vegetarian products contained meat and 67 percent of hygienic issues were associated with vegetarian products.
This all comes on the heels of the latest report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that outlined the correlation between meat consumption and cancer. The report highlighted the risk factors with regards to meat consumption, and specifically the consumption of processed meat. The report states, “Processed meat was classified as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), based on sufficient evidence in humans that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer.”
Should you be eating hot dogs and sausages these days? It depends on where you get your sausages — but you definitely ought to rethink eating that hot dog. No one really knows what a hot dog is made of. I mean, we know only what the package tells us, but clearly the ingredients don’t always match up. According to these latest findings, human DNA and other mysteries are quite likely to be lurking in your hot dog.
However, it’s important not to tar all sausages with the same brush. The sausages found at your local farmers’ market are usually produced with love and care. Sourcing meat products from your local community is optimal. Knowing where your food comes from — and what’s inside it — will give you the peace of mind to truly enjoy what you’re eating.
Will you be eating hot dogs anytime soon?
-Stephen Seifert
Stephen Seifert is a writer, professor, adventurer and a health & fitness guru. His flare for travel and outdoor adventure allows him to enjoy culture and traditions different than his own. A healthy diet, routine fitness and constant mental development is the cornerstone to Stephen’s life.
Sources:
http://www.clearfood.com/food_reports/2015/the_hotdog_report
http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2015/pdfs/pr240_E.pdf
http://www.hot-dog.org/press/national-hot-dog-and-sausage-council-statement-clear-lab’s-‘hot-dog-report’
