Do You Know What's in That Hot Dog You're Eating?

So what exactly goes into a hot dog? We all know that they are not the healthiest form of meat, with who-knows-what byproducts in them, but it's hard to tell for sure exactly what you are eating. I decided to do some research to clear the hot dog mystery up.

All hot dogs aren't created equal. Some include a variety of meats, usually a combination of beef, pork, and chicken, while others claim to contain 100% beef. Some include turkey, supposedly healthier. Dogs labeled as "wieners" typically contain more pork, whereas "franks" are usually beef.

Ballpark brand, often seen on TV and a favorite grocery store buy of many, claims to use only quality USDA meats in their hot dogs and no fillers. Their regular franks contain beef, pork, and turkey. To get beef, you have to buy the specifically labeled beef franks. They are not labeled "100%" beef, but the only meat they contain is beef.

On their site, the ingredients in the regular franks are as follows:

BEEF AND PORK, MECHANICALLY SEPARATED TURKEY, WATER, CORN SYRUP, CONTAINS LESS THAN TWO PERCENT SALT, POTASSIUM LACTATE, PARTIALLY HYDROLYZED BEEF STOCK, SODIUM PHOSPHATES, FLAVORINGS, SODIUM DIACETATE, ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), SODIUM NITRITE, EXTRACTIVES OF PAPRIKA

There are 180 calories in one dog, and a whopping 150 of those calories come from fat! Not that this should come as incredibly surprising, but I didn't know the fat content was to this extent. Sodium, of course, is quite high as well. The term "beef stock" doesn't exactly seem healthful, but apparently they don't qualify as a filler.

I was not exactly sure what qualified as "filler" and had trouble finding any concrete information on it. Although one news article detailing a new filler for hot dogs said that it was a solution containing water, salt and sodium phosphate. The ingredient list above includes "sodium phosphates". Facts can become blurred as to whether this is just a sodium additive or if this is a filler, which Ballpark guaranteed not to have in their product.

The ingredients in the all-beef variety seem a bit less suspicious, however, nutrition facts are basically the same.

I also took a look at the ingredients in Oscar Mayer hot dogs, which were very similar to the Ballpark ingredients; no surprises. However, Oscar Mayer offered more choices, such as Light and 98% Fat Free Hot Dogs. The ingredients weren't "better" in these, but I just assume that some fat content was removed. Fat was greatly reduced to only 6 grams and calories to 90.

I have not tasted the specific differences between any of these varieties, but perhaps that will come in another article. My general opinion of hot dogs isn't very different from when I started this article, but, at least in the brands I looked up, there weren't any "by-products" in the ingredient list. As with anything deemed not-so-good for you, I feel that moderation is the key and the occasional hot dog won't hurt anyone.