But it's definitely disconcerting news for all those who are trying to cut down or avoid eating meat products by buying vegetarian options. 2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. What You Should Know: It happens. How do they assure there are no false positives?, Milkowski adds: Certainly their information can make some juicy headlines and promote their organization, but I personally do not trust any of it., (As of this writing, reps at Clear Lab have not responded to requests for comment.). 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.. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, a trade group that represents hog dog and sausage manufacturers, called the report a "publicity stunt. Additionally, 10% of vegetarian hot dogs sold today contain traces of meat. 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. Like Davey Griffin, Ph.D., a professor and meat specialist at the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University. "DNA testing produces no end of surprises but I seriously doubt that parts of human remains are incorporated into even the cheapest sausages. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council has attempted to reach Clear Food multiple times for further explanation on the report, according to Riley. Beef, chicken, pork, and lamb were all found as unlisted ingredients. Then, long links of hot dogs are cooked in a smokehouse, cooled by being passed under a. Concession stand worker Janice Towns checks on the hot dogs she is making July 23, 2013, on National Hot Dog Day at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. want to find out," Clear Labs Cofounder Mahni Ghorashi told Huffington Post. As for the top dogs, Clear Food recommends national brands Butterball, McCormick, Eckrich and Hebrew National. Hot dog ingredients have long been a source of controversy. Hygienic issues occur when some sort of non-harmful contaminant is introduced to the hot dog, in most cases, human DNA, said Clear Food in theirstudy. 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. But pig anus may seem like a more appetizing option when compared with the latest hot dog accusation. It sounds horrifying. If you crunched the numbers, it was admittedly alarming. Occasionally human workers are involved in the process, but they're wearing so much protective gear you'd think they were handling plutonium. about When I Dip, You Dip, We Dip: Healthy Dips For Super Bowl Weekend, about Move Over Oranges! Did you buy every apple or orange or potato or avocado that you groped or squeezed to make sure it was fresh? Clear Food, a subsidiary of food analyzation startup Clear Labs, collected 345 samples of hot dogs and sausages the traditional kind and the veggie variety from 75 different brands at 10 different retailers and found that 14.4% of them were problematic. The samples were considered as such if they contained ingredient substitutions or additions or hygienic issues. They classified the types of issues as either substitution and hygienic. It does, however, score products based on hygiene, safety and accurate labeling, ABC News reported. Occasionally human workers are involved in the process, but theyre wearing so much protective gear youd think they were handling plutonium. We didnt reach out to any of the major hot dog manufacturers, because obviously they would only deny the studys findings. Test finds human DNA in hot dogs, meat in vegetarian products Americans spent $2.5 billion on hot dogs, $2.74 billion on dinner sausages and more than half a billion on breakfast sausages last year, the report said. 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.". Some minor adjustments to your diet might be exactly what you need. A new study has just revealed that hot dogs might, if research is to be believed, have a little human DNA in it. Scientists have sequenced the oldest Homo sapiens DNA on record, showing that many of Europe's first . "In most cases, a lot of humans are employed in the meat industry, and their DNA is throughout the building. Clear Foods is a company that translates quantifiable molecular tests into actionable food data insights, according to its website. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The researchers found human DNA in two percent of samples, and 2/3 of those products containing human DNA were vegetarian products. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. But if its vegetarian products youre looking for, your best bet is to make a trip to Trader Joes. The study, conducted by food analytics lab Clear Food, analyzed 345 different hot dogs and sausages, including vegetarian versions. Researchers found evidence of meat in products that did not list those ingredients on the label, including veggie dogs. Here's another analysis that will either put everything in perspective or send you into a spiral of food paranoia. But "people" is an ingredient most would expect limited to Soylent Green. Clear Foods also analyzed vegetarian hot dogs and sausages. DNA was in two per cent of all samples, predominantly in veggie products. We talked to actual experts in meat science, and got the real story. 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. Gardein was the top specialty or regional brand. First published on October 25, 2015 / 10:20 AM. In general, we consider human DNA a hygienic issue that degrades the quality of food more than a public health concern," Sasan Amini, also a Clear Labs cofounder, told HuffPost. Human DNA in Hot Dogs! - The Alternative Daily 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. All that really means is that Clear uses genetic sequencing to figure out just whats in your lunch. Butterball, McCormick, Eckrich and Hebrew National received the top scores for quality hot dogs among major brands. Font Size: Clear Food, a subsidiary of food analyzation startup Clear Labs, found that human DNA is present in 2 percent of hot dog and sausage brands, according to a recent study. Pork was found in 3% of samples, mostly in products advertised as chicken- or turkey-only, a discovery that is likely very disturbing to those who avoid pork due to religious reasons. In other words, yes, your hot dogs are going to have a little human DNA on them. Is It Safe to Use Expired Protein Powder? According to "The Hot Dog Report" put out by Clea. Oldest DNA from a Homo sapiens reveals surprisingly recent - Nature Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. "It is unlikely that human DNA is harmful to consumer health. Ten products tested contained chicken that weren't meant to, four contained beef, three contained turkey, two contained lamb and, worryingly, nine contained pork. BDO is the worlds largest and most comprehensive online health resource specifically targeted to African Americans. Hot dogs have never been seen as prime cuts of meat, but a new study has found human DNA in some samples. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Just try to think a bit more about DNA testing while you're doing so. Analysis: Some Hot Dog Brands Contain Human DNA ", Milkowski adds: "Certainly their information can make some juicy headlines and promote their organization, but I personally do not trust any of it. 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 . Check out the full report for more information about the brands in the US that did well on the test. 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.. But the ingredients of hot dogs arent nearly as ominous as were often led to believe. Its not all about, about 10 Foods Thatll Have You Sleeping Like A Baby. — -- The food that's a staple of American cookouts is getting some scrutiny for some unexpected ingredients. What are they going to tell us? Samples showed chicken, beef, turkey and lamb were found in products that were not supposed to have those ingredients. Researchers for Clear Labs, a company that sets standards for food quality, looked at 345 samples of hot dogs and sausages from 75 brands and 10 retailers, assigning each brand a score up to 100 for the highest quality products. It could have come from the person doing the analysis in the lab, says Rentfrow. Remember the first time a friend told you the horrible truth about hot dogs; that they're actually made from lips and hooves and pig's anus? In addition to the human DNA, 67% of the hygienic issues detected in the samples were caused by vegetarian products. Major brands, including Butterball, Boar's Head, Hebrew National, Oscar Meyer, Jennie O and Trader Joe's received high marks. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, about 7 billion hot dogs will be consumed in the U.S., and on the Fourth of July more than 150 million hot dogs will be consumed alone. Its not like somebody found a pinkie in a Hebrew National. If you're a hot dog lover, you may have beef with a study that finds certain varieties of hot dogs contain human DNA. DNA from cave dirt reveals details of Neanderthals and other - CNN ", officially listed processed meats such as bacon and sausages as cancer-causing, Huge New Study Shows Why Exercise Should Be The First Choice in Treating Depression, A World-First Discovery Hints at The Sounds Non-Avian Dinosaurs Made, For The First Time Ever, Physicists See Molecules Form Through Quantum Tunneling. Hope you enjoyed your lunch, Hannibal Lecter. And heres another quandary worth considering. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. During these very stressful times, it can be challenging to fall asleep or stay asleep. Basically, any food that you haven't personally grown or harvested. Moreover, the amount of protein listed in some of the vegetarian products exaggerated the amount of protein in the item by as much as 250 percent, according to the report. 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In most cases, a lot of humans are employed in the meat industry, and their DNA is throughout the building., Related: The 10 Dirtiest Foods You're Eating, Even if they never actually touch the hot dogs, they are touching the processing equipment, to clean and sanitize it. The products came from 75. "In most cases, pork found its way into chicken and turkey sausages," said Clear Food. Not least, the fact that 10 percent of the vegetarian mock-meat products tested actually contained meat. For example, 10% of all vegetarian samples contained meat; chicken was found in a vegetarian breakfast sausage and pork was found in a vegetarian hot dog. And Gardein topped the specialty and regional hot dog list. NR is a form of vitamin B3. Americans spent $2.4 billion last year on hot dogs and another $2.74 billion on sausages according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. Traces of Human DNA found in Hot dogs | Science Times Is There Really Human DNA in Hot Dogs? | Prevention "Theres the old saying, 'You dont want to know how the sausage get made.' The report comes amid unrelated research released by theWorld Health Organization on Monday that finds eating hot dogs, ham and other processed meat can cause colorectal cancer. Julie Fidler has written hundreds of articles on key world topics such as health, drugs, and law. Actually, such items as feces, maggots and rodent hair in processed foods are allowed by the FDA because food growing and manufacturing processes cannot be totally free of non-hazardous, naturally occurring defects. 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.". Its a theory echoed by Gregg Rentfrow, Ph.D., a professor in Animal and Food Science at the University of Kentucky. America's 120-year-old love affair with hot dogs extends from ballparks to backyards to the White House. Initial attempts by USA TODAY Network to. ", After reviewing the company's website and research, Milkowski claims that while the founders have a molecular genetics background, "as far as I can tell they do not have any expertise or scientific training around food or agriculture." So what are we missing? As one example, in the mid-nineteenth century, rumors suggested that butchers used dog meat for their hot dogs. But hey, customers hardly ever taste the flakes.. The Clear Labs hot dog study found human DNA samples in 2 percent of the 345 hot dogs and sausages. And for most of the Internet, it was enough reason to go into full-on panic mode. 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.". As in, homo sapiens. Sometimes referred to as mystery meat, hot dogs have often been the target of rumors. (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."). The DNA found in the samples likely came from "hair, skin, finger nail or saliva that was accidentally mixed in during the manufacturing process," according to Clear Food. "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. Unless you also want to give up eating fruits and vegetables. MORE: The 26 Hot Dogs Every Man Must Devour. Kosher hot dogs were the safest choice for products containing no pork. 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.". One study found that wieners, bacon and other processed meats probably contribute to cancer, and now news of this study comes out. Trader Joe's is the best bet for vegetarians. Regionally, the top 3 specialty and regional hot dog brands were Gardein, Taverrites and Field to Family Natural Foods.