Q: I hear all kinds of things about what hot dogs are made of. Can you give me the real scoop?

A: According to the Food Safety and Inspection Service of USDA, whether you call it a frankfurter, hot dog, wiener or bologna, it’s a cooked sausage. 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.

Here is what the USDA says about hot dogs:

“Frankfurters (aka 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 percent fat or no more than 10 percent water, or a combination of 40 percent fat and added water. Up to 3.5 percent non-meat binders and extenders (such as nonfat dry milk, cereal, or dried whole milk) or 2 percent isolated soy protein may be used, but must be shown in the ingredients statement on the product’s label by its common name.

“Some hot dogs have a casing, or a thin skin. If the species of the casing is different than that of the hot dog, the label must say so. For example, if a turkey hot dog has a pork casing, the label must list the pork casing on the ingredients list. If the casing is artificially colored, the label must indicate this as well.

“‘Frankfurter, hot dog, wiener or bologna with byproducts’ or ‘with variety meats’ are made according to the specifications for cooked and/or smoked sausages, except they consist of not less than 15 percent of one or more kinds of raw skeletal muscle meat with raw meat byproducts. The byproducts (heart, kidney or liver, for example) must be named with the derived species and be individually named in the ingredients statement.

“Beef franks or pork franks are cooked and/or smoked sausage products made according to the specifications above, but with meat from a single species and do not include byproducts. Turkey franks or chicken franks can contain turkey or chicken and turkey or chicken skin and fat in proportion to a turkey or chicken carcass.

“All ingredients in the product must be listed in the ingredients statement in order of predominance, from highest to lowest amounts.”

Q: What is “mechanically separated meat”?

A: Here is what the USDA says about that:

“Mechanically separated meat is a paste-like and batter-like meat product produced by forcing bones, with attached edible meat, under high pressure through a sieve or similar device to separate the bone from the edible meat tissue.

“Due to FSIS regulations enacted in 2004 to protect consumers against bovine spongiform encephalopathy, mechanically separated beef is considered inedible and is prohibited for use as human food. It is not permitted in hot dogs or any other processed product.

“Mechanically separated pork is permitted and must be labeled as ‘mechanically separated pork’ in the ingredients statement. Hot dogs can contain no more than 20 percent mechanically separated pork.

“Mechanically separated poultry has been used in poultry products since the late 1960s. In 1995, a final rule on mechanically separated poultry said it was safe and could be used without restrictions. However, it must be labeled as ‘mechanically separated chicken or turkey’ in the product’s ingredients statement. Hot dogs can contain any amount of mechanically separated chicken or turkey.”

Q: Do I have to cook hot dogs before eating them?

A: Hot dogs come fully cooked. Because studies have shown a high level of the bacteria listeria in hot dogs, they should be reheated to 165 degrees before eating.

Hot dogs can be safely stored in the unopened package for two weeks in the refrigerator. Keep them only one week after they’re opened. For maximum quality, freeze hot dogs no longer than one or two months. And, of course, never leave hot dogs at room temperature for more than two hours and no more than one hour when the temperature goes above 90 degrees.

— Susan Krumm is an Extension agent in family and consumer sciences with K-State Research and Extension-Douglas County, 2110 Harper St. She can be reached at 843-7058.