Additionally, 10% of vegetarian hot dogs sold today contain traces of meat. However, Janet Riley, president of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, said Clear Food "has said very little about its sample collection procedure. Beef, chicken, pork, and lamb were all found as unlisted ingredients. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Veggie dogs were the worst off, accounting for 67 percent of the hygiene issues and two-thirds of the human DNA found. Researchers highlighted the pork, which was found in beef and turkey hot dogs, as a particularly problematic result, given that some religions forbid the consumption of pork. Two-thirds of that human DNA was found in vegetarian hot dogs, according to the study. However, areport uncoveredsome startling findingson what peopleare really eating when theybite into a frankfurter. They're still, as with most things in life, best in moderation. Processed meat causes cancer, red meat could too, says WHO, According to a report from a research division of WHO, processed meats cause cancer, and red meat likely does, too. America's 120-year-old love affair with hot dogs extends from ballparks to backyards to the White House. At least 12 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, The Saturday Six: Dental device controversy, scientist's bug find and more, Trump speaks at CPAC after winning straw poll, 3 children killed, 2 others wounded at Texas home, Man charged for alleged involvement in 2 transformer explosions, Nikki Haley slams potential GOP contenders, and Trump and George W. Bush, Duo of 81-year-old women plan to see the world in 80 days, Tom Sizemore, actor known for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat," dies at 61, Alex Murdaugh trial: What to know about the double murder case, Report has startling revelations for contents of hot dogs. Do a google search on the topic and you might end up believing that hot dogs contain everything short of snips and snails and puppy dogs' tails. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. "Imagine how many apples could test positive after being handled by half the people shopping in the grocery store," he says. And despite the genomic tests being done in California crowd-sourced labs, they probably don't have any people parts. Even more disturbing, 66 percent of those cases were found in vegetarian-labeled products. Sometimes referred to as mystery meat, hot dogs have often been the target of rumors. For non-meat eaters the results are particularly eye-opening: 10 percent of the vegetarian products tested contained meat (chicken in the veggie breakfast sausages and pork in the veggie hot dogs), and four of the 21 vegetarian samples had "hygienic issues." "Theres the old saying, 'You dont want to know how the sausage get made.' Despite some of the shocking findings, Clear Foods reports "there are a number of hot dog manufacturers, large and small, that are producing high-quality hot dogs with integrity.". The researchers found human DNA in two percent of samples, and 2/3 of those products containing human DNA were vegetarian products. A company that uses genomic analysis technology to get information on the contents of food has . Woot! "It is unlikely that human DNA is harmful to consumer health. Sources for Todays Article: Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. The products came from 75. Pork substitution was an issue in products across the price spectrum being sold at a wide variety of retailers.". 2023 www.jacksonville.com. At least not enough to worry about. A new DNA analysis of hot dogs and sausages in the US has revealed a few harsh realities about everyone's favourite street food. Hot dogs have always had a reputation for containing God-knows-what, but recent DNA testing on wieners revealed the presence of human DNA in small sample of the franks. In other words, yes, your hot dogs are going to have a little human DNA on them. Basically, any food that you havent personally grown or harvested. How did actual human DNA end up in hotdogs? Part of HuffPost News. Clear Foods is a company that translates quantifiable molecular tests into actionable food data insights, according to its website. (Substitution meanswhen ingredients are added to the productthat are not displayed on the label and hygienic issues happen when a "non-harmful contaminant is introduced to the hot dog."). People who don't eat pork might want to stay away from chicken dogs and sausages, as some of these brands commingled pork products. The study also concludes that 10 percent of veggie dog brands tested contained meat. Clear Food is the consumer outreach arm of Clear Labs, a B2B food analytics startup based in California. Could Hibiscus Tea be Better than High Blood Pressure Drugs? Researchers found issues with 14.4 percent of analyzed samples. A new study has just revealed that hot dogs might, if research is to be believed, have a little human DNA in it. Plant personnel wear clean clothes and gloves, they have sanitary working equipment, and the USDA regularly inspects to ensure that products are made cleanly and safely for consumers.". The Hot Dog Report, Clear Food web site; http://www.clearfood.com/food_reports/2015/the_hotdog_report, last accessed October 30, 2015. "It is unlikely that human DNA is harmful to consumer health. Eric Spitznagel is a frequent contributor to magazines like Playboy, Esquire, and the New York Times, and was employed for over two decades by the Second City comedy theater, where Stephen Colbert was his Secret Santa _twice. The other other white meat. Meers, W., Hot Dogs Contain Human DNA, Veggie Dogs Contain Meat: Study, The Huffington Post web site, October 28, 2015; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hot-dogs-dna-veggie-dogs-meat_562e45abe4b0ec0a38950dc5. "The U.S. does not allow blood," he says. It does, however, score products based on hygiene, safety and accurate labeling. Researchers found evidence of meat in products that did not list those ingredients on the label, including veggie dogs. BDO is the worlds largest and most comprehensive online health resource specifically targeted to African Americans. "Yes, humans work at meat processing establishments," he says. Credit: Marek Janta. What is a Detox Bath and How do You take One? The hot dog and sausage report was self-funded, according to Clear Food. This content is imported from youTube. I would imagine if you used the same technology to discover what was on cereal boxes in the grocery store aisle, you might no longer trust what is in other food products as well, Campbell says. Kosher hot dogs were the safest choice for products containing no pork. The next time you squeeze some ketchup onto a ballpark frank at a baseball game, you should know you could be eating porkor you could be eating someones eyebrows or spit. Clear Food says the best retailers for hot dogs and sausage products are Target, Walmart and Safeway, and the top brands (in order) are Butterball, McCormick, Ekrich, and Hebrew National, all of which received a Clear Score of 96. I have been in numerous plants that make hot dogs and other processed meat products across this country, he told us. How is anything from the bodies of a hotdog worker getting into the mix? Here's another analysis that will either put everything in perspective or send you into a spiral of food paranoia. If you're a hot dog lover, you may have beef with a study that finds certain varieties of hot dogs contain human DNA. They analyzed 345 hot dogs from 75 brands, and found "human DNA in 2% of the samples, and in 2/3rds of the vegetarian samples.". While it may be the time of year when horror stories are passed around, the researchers believe that what theyre finding traces of isnt from chunks of human flesh, but rather from poor quality control standards that are resulting in human DNA entering the products in the forms of saliva, skin fragments (such as dry skin flakes), hair, and broken fingernails. complete list of products Clear Food regards as high quality. Regionally, the top 3 specialty and regional hot dog brands were Gardein, Taverrites and Field to Family Natural Foods. A study of both meat and vegetarian hot dogs showed that they contain unadvertised ingredients - including human DNA. Study: Sustainably-Sourced Goods are KEY for Protecting Endangered Species, California Will Get Swamped by Millions of Mosquito-Killing Mosquitoes, Yellowstone Grizzly Bears Lose Federal Protection After 42 Years, 15 Health Benefits of Cucumbers: Grow Your Own Cooling Food, Ancient Medicine: Black Seed Oils 21 Powerful Health Benefits, Avocados Could be Key in Avoiding Metabolic Syndrome, Numerous Ailments, Cinnamon Could Increase Ability to Learn, Study Says, Your IBS Diet Plan 9 Dietary Tips for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. While some of these substitutions, hygienic issues, other variances, or off-label ingredients may be permitted by the FDA, our scientific disclosure allows you, as the consumer, to decide whether the variance or problems meet your personal standard in your buying decision, Clear Food says in their study. Occasionally human workers are involved in the process, but they're wearing so much protective gear you'd think they were handling plutonium. As for the top dogs, Clear Food recommends national brands Butterball, McCormick, Eckrich and Hebrew National. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This information is coming from a study by a fairly new organization that's using Kickstarter to fund much of its research. It sometimes seems like it exists not because people enjoy the taste of a frankfurter, but because we just love speculating about all the secret and super-gross ingredients.. The Hot Dog study found human DNA samples in 2% of the 345 hotdogs and sausages that it looked at. Some Hot Dogs, Sausages Studied Contain Human DNA, Says New Report Clear Foods also analyzed vegetarian hot dogs and sausages. What percentage of grocery store fruits and vegetables have a little human DNA on them? Or shopping at grocery stores, or buying food that at any point in its production was touched by human hands. For most of us growing up, it was one of those irresistible rumorslike how some rock songs have satanic messages if you play them backwardsthat arent true but were endlessly fun to repeat. You May Also Like 13 Signs You Need to See a Dermatologist Overall, 14.4 percent of the hot dogs and sausages tested by Clear Foods "were problematic," the company said. But this is not a "contaminant" but a "non-aesthetic idea of something in our food that the average consumer feels may not be pleasing to them.". Nearly every cell in a person's body has the same DNA. 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. Its a theory echoed by Gregg Rentfrow, Ph.D., a professor in Animal and Food Science at the University of Kentucky. Maybe Not, Study Shows, A Broccoli Anti-Aging Enzyme may Hold the Fountain of Youth, Illinois Ag. Sixty-seven percent of hygienic problems found in the report were from vegetarian products. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. DNA is not a food safety hazard, says Jonathan A. Campbell, Ph.D., a Meat Specialist and Assistant Professor at Penn State University. But let's say, just for the sake of argument, that Clear Labs' research methods and results can be trusted. In light of the news that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has, Pork substitution was an issue in products across the price spectrum being sold at a wide variety of retailers. Clear Food says its testing found human DNA in two percent of all hot dog samples. Then, long links of hot dogs are cooked in a smokehouse, cooled by being passed under a. But there were plenty of impartial meat academics happy to weigh in. Human DNA Found in a Small Sample of Hot Dogs and Sausages by Julie Fidler Posted on October 28, 2015 Updated on October 24, 2021 General Health The next time you squeeze some ketchup onto a ballpark frank at a baseball game, you should know you could be eating porkor you could be eating someone's eyebrows or spit. The human DNA isn't . They classified the types of issues as either substitution and hygienic. Researchers found issues with 14.4 percent of analyzed samples. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. (Supplied: University of Hasanuddin) 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. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA . Some, Super Bowl Sunday is upon us again! Unless you also want to give up eating fruits and vegetables. The study, conducted by Clear Food, found human DNA in hot dog sausage from 75 different brands, besides also finding that 10 percent of vegetarian sausage have meat in them. So what does this mean to you? It's not like somebody found a pinkie in a Hebrew National. Human DNA found in the hot dogs was classified as a hygienic issue because human hair or skin dander likely got into the product during the manufacturing process, TruthOrFiction.com said the study reported. In other words, yes, your hot dogs are going to have a little human DNA on them. MORE: The 26 Hot Dogs Every Man Must Devour. Hot dogs, bacon, processed meats linked to cancer. Now thatsahygienic issue. This publicity stunt changes nothing about the fundamental safety of Americas carefully regulated and inspected hot dogs.. about When I Dip, You Dip, We Dip: Healthy Dips For Super Bowl Weekend, about Move Over Oranges! Probably not, right? If you crunched the numbers, it was admittedly alarming. DNA is not on the FDA's list of product defects, so the agency would likely decide what action needs to be taken on a "case-by-case basis" if it confirmed the report's findings. In a story that seems more appropriate in a Syfy original movie, Clear Food, a Bay Area-based food analytics lab, recently revealed that an in-depth DNA analysis on 75 major hot dog brands found traces of human DNA in 2 percent of all hot dogs and in around two-thirds of all vegetarian options. All of the latest health news that actually matters. This $50 Meal Prep Plan Will Help You Build Muscle, 10 Food Subscription Boxes Worth Ordering, Theres Nothing Special About Gut Health Diets. And, yep, 10 percent of them contained meat. Well, we. It also found human DNA in 2 percent of its hot dog samples and two-thirds of the vegetarian samples. Did you buy every apple or orange or potato or avocado that you groped or squeezed to make sure it was fresh? Do they have appropriate laboratory quality procedures with both positive and negative reference sample controls in their analyses? Challenge yourself to drink one gallon of water DAILY at least for 30 days! Eric Spitznagel is a frequent contributor to magazines like Playboy, Esquire, and the New York Times, and was employed for over two decades by the Second City comedy theater, where Stephen Colbert was his Secret Santa _twice. Clear Foods, which "uses genomic technology to analyze the world's foods at a molecular level, ingredient by ingredient," released a report recently that it said was designed to look at the accuracy of the content labels of several major hot dog brands. The Clear Labs hot dog study found human DNA samples in 2 percent of the 345 hot dogs and sausages. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Three percent of samples contained a pork substitution, which is particularly troubling for people who do not eat pork for religious reasons. Getty Images "I have been in numerous plants that make hot dogs and other processed meat products across this country," he told us. There were also issues with the nutritional content listed on labels, with the analysis showing that protein content could be exaggerated up to 2.5 times. If you can stomach it, take a look at this video demonstrating how hot dogs are made. Flashback: Study Finds High-Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury, 3 Simple, Natural Ways for Detoxing Your Body, The Herbal Remedy to Kick the Smoking Habit & Repair the Lungs. The company analyzed 345 hot dog and sausage products from 75 brands and 10 retailers, and said they found "human DNA in 2% of the samples, and in 2/3rds of the vegetarian samples.". Even with this stigma, hot dogs and sausages are incredibly popular in the U.S. Last year, Americans spent more than $5.0 billion on hot dogs and sausages. It would appear that modern hot dogs are made almost entirely by scary-looking machines. Altogether, 75 different hot dog brands from 10 different retailers were studied. Scientists have sequenced the oldest Homo sapiens DNA on record, showing that many of Europe's first . A new study has just revealed that hot dogs might, if research is to be believed, have a little human DNA in it. Theyre still, as with most things in life, best in moderation. / CBS News. ", Well, what about blood or skin? As one example, in the mid-nineteenth century, rumors suggested that butchers used dog meat for their hot dogs. Did you buy every apple or orange or potato or avocado that you groped or squeezed to make sure it was fresh? But the ingredients of hot dogs arent nearly as ominous as were often led to believe. The study suggests that those looking for a DNA-free dog should head to Target, Safeway and Walmart, the study reports. A study of both meat and vegetarian hot dogs showed that they contain unadvertised ingredients - including human DNA. How did actual human DNA end up in hotdogs? There were also issues with the nutritional content listed . In effect, almost all U.S. hot dogs are made with just meat.". So what does this mean to you? Initial attempts by USA TODAY Network to. 2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Yes, human DNA! February 12 is the 2023 Super Bowl LVII, and what better way to celebrate this annual sporting event than by enjoying the deliciousness of a chip and dip combo with some family and friends? Are Farmers Being Manipulated Into Buying GMO Soybean Seeds? Do you really know whats in your food? Men's Health Review: Dymatize Protein Powder, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. Clear Food, an independent company that analyzes food at the molecular level, found that 14.4 percent of the hot dogs it tested were "problematic.". Molecular biologists at Clear Labs then extracted the DNA from samples of these products and matched them to the genetic code of different animals. "What we do know is that any product collected in the marketplace was inspected and passed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Our product picks are editor-tested, expert-approved. 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