Whether you call it a frankfurter, hot dog, wiener, or bologna, it’s a cooked sausage and a year-round favorite. They can be made from beef, pork, turkey, chicken, or a combination — the label must state which. And there are Federal standards of identity for their content.
Definitions
Frankfurters (a.k.a., hot dogs, wieners, or bologna) are cooked and/or smoked sausages according to the Federal standards of identity. Federal
standards of identity describe the requirements for processors to follow in formulating and marketing meat, poultry, and egg products produced in
the United States for sale in this country and in foreign commerce. The standard also requires that they be comminuted (reduced to minute
particles), semisolid products made from one or more kinds of raw skeletal muscle from livestock (like beef or pork), and may contain poultry meat.
Smoking and curing ingredients contribute to flavor, color, and preservation of the product. They are link-shaped and come in all sizes — short, long,
thin, and chubby.
The most popular of all categories, the skinless varieties, have been stripped of their casings after cooking. Water or ice, or both, may be used
to facilitate chopping or mixing or to dissolve curing ingredients. The finished products may not contain more than 30% fat or no more than
10% water, or a combination of 40% fat and added water. Up to 3.5% non-meat binders and extenders (such as nonfat dry milk, cereal, or dried
whole milk) or 2% isolated soy protein may be used, but must be shown in the ingredients statement on the product’s label by its common name.
