You’ve eaten them for a cheap meal. You’ve bought them deep-fried on a stick at an Easter showground. And as you tucked into this mysterious greyish-pink food, you’ve no doubt wondered: are hot dogs really made from the lips and buttholes of unfortunate animals?
A recent study by Canadian pathologists set out to discover whether the grim legend is true. The good news is, it doesn’t appear that hot dogs are made from “oral and anal squamous mucosa”, as they’re known in medical parlance.
Dr Taylor Rouse and Dr Jordan Radigan analysed several different kinds of hot dogs, an investigation recently awarded joint winner of the Australian Medical Journal’s recent Christmas competition, given annually to tongue-in-cheek research.
For their study, the duo procured hot dogs from several different tiers of supermarket and from a vendor at a major sporting event, then examined their specimens down to the microscopic level.
The analysis determined that hot dogs are mostly composed of “fat globules”. Other tissues present included bone, cartilage, blood vessels, skeletal muscle and “perhaps most disturbingly, fragments of vegetable matter”.
“The origin of the recognisable vegetable matter does not bear thinking about, but one result of this study is that these authors may never eat hot dogs again,” wrote Rouse and Radigan in the study.
“Recognisable vegetable matter” is an ominously vague phrase that hints at all kinds of dark things contained in the hot dog, so we here at Coach went right to the source to find out why it was such an unfathomable discovery.
“The vegetable comment was disturbing because, as Im sure you are aware, a pigs diet is vegetarian, and therefore this may represent sampling from ‘the digestive tract’, and its unclear if its from the beginning or the end of said tract,” Dr Rouse told Coach via email.
What most of us think of as “meat” is properly defined as skeletal muscular tissue — which was present in depressingly (although not surprisingly) low quanitites in the hot dogs, with the sporting event “street meat” containing the least.
“Really, theyre just tubes of fat with bits of other things in them,” said Rouse, adding that he hasn’t totally quit the ultra processed foods: “I have since eaten hot dogs, but very reluctantly, and only at the insistence of my youngest child.
Rouse doesn’t think his and Radigan’s study will do anything to diminish either hot dogs’ popularity or ubiquitousness.
Are hotdogs really made with the parts from animals that should be thrown out? No, there is nothing wrong with eating hot dogs. It is just little scraps of meat (and some fat) that are too small to be used in other ways. When people say hot dogs are made from lips and assholes, that is just a joke.
The analysis determined that hot dogs are mostly composed of “fat globules”. Other tissues present included bone, cartilage, blood vessels, skeletal muscle and “perhaps most disturbingly, fragments of vegetable matter”.
“The origin of the recognisable vegetable matter does not bear thinking about, but one result of this study is that these authors may never eat hot dogs again,” wrote Rouse and Radigan in the study.
“Recognisable vegetable matter” is an ominously vague phrase that hints at all kinds of dark things contained in the hot dog, so we here at Coach went right to the source to find out why it was such an unfathomable discovery.
“Really, theyre just tubes of fat with bits of other things in them,” said Rouse, adding that he hasn’t totally quit the ultra processed foods: “I have since eaten hot dogs, but very reluctantly, and only at the insistence of my youngest child.
A recent study by Canadian pathologists set out to discover whether the grim legend is true. The good news is, it doesn’t appear that hot dogs are made from “oral and anal squamous mucosa”, as they’re known in medical parlance.
If you crunched the numbers, it was admittedly alarming. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council estimates that in this country alone, we consume around 20 billion hot dogs annually—or 70 hot dogs per person every year. And if this new research is in any way factual, 1.4 of your yearly hot dogs have bits of people in them.
Remember the first time a friend told you the horrible truth about hot dogs; that theyre actually made from lips and hooves and pigs anus? For most of us growing up, it was one of those irresistible rumors—like how some rock songs have satanic messages if you play them backwards—that arent true but were endlessly fun to repeat.
And heres another quandary worth considering. That human DNA the Fresh Lab scientists found on the hotdogs they tested? “It could have come from the person doing the analysis in the lab,” says Rentfrow.
But the ingredients of hot dogs arent nearly as ominous as were often led to believe. 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.
A new study has just revealed that hot dogs might, if research is to be believed, have a little human DNA in it.
Why Do Dogs Sniff Butts? | COLOSSAL QUESTIONS
FAQ
What parts are hot dogs made of?
What is inside a hot dog?
Is human meat found in hotdogs?
Are there guts in hot dogs?
Do hot dogs contain anus?
For the record, no, hot dogs don’t contain anus. But pig anus may seem like a more appetizing option when compared with the latest hot dog accusation. A new study has just revealed that hot dogs might, if research is to be believed, have a little human DNA in it. That’s right, human DNA. As in, homo sapiens. The other other white meat.
What are hot dogs made of?
The emulsified meat is then stuffed into casings, which are typically made from processed collagen or collagen from animal intestines. Other hot dog ingredients include:
Are hot dogs vegetarian?
Hot dogs may be considered an American standard, but the truth about their ingredients and their direct link to the abuse of animals raised for food make a good case for choosing veggie dogs instead. What are hot dogs made of? Hot dogs are made from the emulsified meat trimmings of chicken, beef, or pork.
Is there meat in hot dogs?
So there’s not really meat in hot dogs. But what about the brands you buy that say “all-beef” on the outside? Well, it turns out that those are even worse: In fact, the no-name brand actually had more skeletal muscle than the all-beef brand. Independent. In print. In your mailbox.