Schneiders hot dogs not made with 'lips and snouts,' says former employee
The Calgary Eyeopener | CBC News | Posted: July 20, 2015 4:02 PM | Last Updated: July 20, 2015
Uncovering what's really inside those tubular packages of mystery meat
Lips, snouts — perhaps the odd tail or hoof.
We've all heard (and spread) rumours about what we think hot dogs are made of, but a former employee of Schneider Foods says that's a whole lot of hooey.
"Not at Schneiders. Maybe at other companies, but not at Schneiders," said Mike Conrad, who worked for the Canadian meat producer for more than 30 years.
Working his way up from stock boy to Calgary distribution manager, Conrad says 40 to 45 per cent of Scheniders hot dogs are made from pork.
The rest is "trimmings," mostly fat and grit, from pork products that would otherwise be thrown away.
"Like bacon, you'd cut off the ends. Well that would go into wieners."
All that is ground up, blended with water and spices and turned into a paste — which is squeezed into a tubular casing.
Hot dog casings now artificial
Back in the day, casings were made from hog intestines.
"They're all artificial now, much cheaper. Hog casings are very expensive," said Conrad.
Artificial casings for hot dogs are usually made from beef, pig or chicken collagen — the proteins that make up the connective tissues in these animals.
Conrad says they can also be made from cellulose, derived from wood pulp.
However, he says once the hot dogs have been steamed, the artificial casings are removed and tossed before the product is packaged and sent to grocery stores.
Quality varies
Not all hot dogs are created equal, says Conrad.
He says higher quality franks, like Schneiders, use the Grade A meat ends from their bacon and ham products, while lower quality wieners are made from lesser cuts that would never be sold on their own.
"Basically you can taste the difference. If you eat a hot dog and it tastes funny, chances are they're not using as good a quality of meat."
OK to eat them raw
Conrad says it's perfectly safe to eat hot dogs straight from their plastic packaging because they're pre-cooked.
He says higher-end hot dogs use real smoke, which gives the product a much richer flavour, but companies that want to save money implant artificial liquid smoke into the meat.