Health

New Report Says Hot Dogs Contain Human DNA, Veggie Hot Dogs Contain Meat

Hot dogs have always been known as the mystery meat, and you can’t get through a barbecue without people asking someone if they know about what they’re made of. But is it possible that they’re more gross than we thought?

Maybe. A new report by Clear Foods researchers found that your vegetarian hot dog might not be vegetarian at all. They surveyed 345 hot dog and sausage products from 75 brands and 10 retailers. The study found “human DNA in 2% of the samples, and in 2/3rds of the vegetarian samples.” They also said that 10% of all the vegetarian hot dogs contained traces of meat. Yikes.

Per AOL, the report also found the following:

– 10 percent of vegetarian products contained meat;
– Labels of some vegetarian products exaggerated the amount of protein in the item by as much as 2.5 times.
– Vegetarian items accounted for 67 percent of the hygienic issues found in the report.
– Pork substitution in three percent of the samples. In most cases, pork was substituted for chicken or turkey.

Not great stats. But I guess when you’re eating a hot dog, “not great” is what you should be expecting.