There’s never good news where it concerns “the world’s original mystery meat”, and you don’t want to know what hot dogs contain, but you should because it’s highly disturbing.
- Researchers tested 345 samples from 75 different brands
- Almost 15% of all products presented with some issues
- Only 10% of the “vegetarian hot dogs” were vegetarian, and 67% of them presented with hygiene issues
- Disturbingly, 2% of the hot dogs had traces of human DNA
Clear Food, a company in California that undertakes the task of genetically testing foods have decided to start with hot dogs and sausages. They tested a number of 345 samples from 75 different brands, including meatless and, loosely said, meat-full types of products. Spoiler alert, it’s bad.
According to Clear Food, a worrying number of 14.4% of the tested hot dogs and sausages featured some type of issue. This could range from misleading labels, to incomplete list of ingredients, or to hygiene issues. And, apparently, quite a few of the brands don’t really respect your chosen way of life, diet, or beliefs.
While it’s important for certain religions that when a label says ‘pork free’ that is should really be free of pork meat, not all abide by those requirements. Around 3% of those labeled to be recommended for people indulging in kosher were indeed false.
And, while this isn’t precisely a particular belief they’re breaking, it’s hopeful that no one would be happy to know about the 2% of them that contained human DNA. It has been proven once again that sometimes it’s best not knowing. However, hot dog peddlers seem to hold some of the most important truths to themselves.
Clear Food was apparently there to spoil all reports and all forthcoming 4th of July for everyone.
However, a disturbing amount of brands also did not seem particularly concerned with anyone’s vegetarian lifestyle either. In fact, veggie hot dogs were the worst out of the bunch. Other than the fact that 10% of “vegetarian hot dogs” had meat in their content, they were also off the charts where it concerned hygiene issues.
Opting for that meat-free option is certainly not always the healthier option. According to Clear Food, 67% of the veggie hot dogs reported with hygiene issues, and two thirds of the human DNA found overall. Perhaps it should’ve been noted that human meat is also not an option.
However, some of the brands were admirably loyal to their word. Trader Joe’s was claimed the best for vegetarians, while meat eaters can have their pick between Taveritte’s, Whole Foods’ 365, Aidell’s, Hebrew National, Ball Park, Oscar Mayer, and Johnsonville.
In result of their study, Clear Food has also started a Kickstarter campaign to verify other popular foods. So, your favorite sushi or burgers are next.
Image source: snacksforevening.com
Michael Kieser says
So they only tested 4.6 hotdogs per brand? Not even a whole pack. That’s not a good test sample. This sounds like amateurs trying to make a name for themselves. There’s an FDA for a reason. I will not be clicking on or looking at any more “research” from this attention seeking group, who by the way, also want your money. There using fear to persuade you to support them on Kickstarter. Scumbags.