The image of the frankfurter-a proud symbol of American heritage-may be in dire straits. But the meat industry vows to fight for the wiener's reputation
by Larry Aylward, managing editor
Baseball lore has it that slugger Babe Ruth once lunched on a dozen hot dogs between games of a doubleheader.
But would The Sultan of Swat down as many frankfurters had he known hot dogs were an alleged health hazard? Or would Ruth take a fatalistic approach-eat the hot dogs and risk possible ailment?
Today's consumers might be asking themselves the same questions. Like an embattled politician, the hot dog has been in the spotlight-but it has not been warm with good news.
Last spring, a study conducted by researchers of the University of Southern California claimed that children who eat more than 12 hot dogs a month may have a nine times greater chance of developing childhood leukemia than kids who didn't consume that many hot dogs. Two related studies said that children whose fathers ate hot dogs before these children were conceived double the normal risk of developing brain tumors as do children born to mothers who eat at least one hot dog a week during pregnancy.
The studies hinted that nitrites used as preservatives in hot dogs could be linked to the cancer-causing agents.
The timing of the reports couldn't have been worse. The studies received ample national media attention just as Americans were igniting their grills for the summer barbecue season.
The onslaught of media attention continued with related accounts detailing the high fat and sodium content in hot dogs. A headline in the Los Angeles Times stated: "A Frankly Tough Challenge: Selling the Lowly Wiener Calls for High Creativity." An accompanying chart stated that hot dogs were one of the least popular items sold at fast-food outlets in Southern California.
A headline in the Washington Post asked: "Where Does the Mighty Hot Dog Stand?"
Baseball, hot dogs...?
If scrutinizing news reports weren't enough, the hot dog industry was victimized by strikes in baseball and hockey. The Delaware North Cos. of Buffalo, which has concessions at seven major league baseball stadiums and four National Hockey League arenas, reportedly lost $25 million to $30 million in sales because of the strikes.
The image of the hot dog-a proud symbol of American heritage-may be in dire straits.
"Hot dogs are not a great food," insists Jayne Hurley, senior nutritionist for Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest. "They are loaded with fat."
Sales of hot dogs may reflect the negative publicity. Overall, retail sales of hot dogs were $1.4 billion for a 52-week period ending Oct. 9, 1994, a decrease of 2.1 percent from the previous year, according to Chicago-based Information Resources.
At the foodservice level, sales are also down. If it were a boxing match between hot dogs and hamburgers, it would be a TKO- with hot dogs on the losing end, notes Milford Prewitt, senior editor for Nation's Restaurant Business, a New York-based trade publication.
Despite its popularity with children and at sporting events, the hot dog is still second to the hamburger when it comes to consumer preference, Prewitt says.
Its likeness pummeled, the hot dog trade limps along. But like a big brother, the meat industry has come to its aid. The industry will put up its dukes and fight for the hot dog's image, stresses George Bryan, AMI chairman and senior vice president of Sara Lee Corp.
"The [USC] study was misleading," Bryan says. "We allow these activists and special interest groups to make statements without backing them up. And then we lay back and wait for [the media] to pick up the negativism."
The media-from CNN to the local news-scooped up the USC study and ran with it. John Peters, the epidemiologist who headed up the USC study, tells Meat Marketing & Technology that he's not surprised it received an excess of media attention. The study was originally published in a medical journal, Cancer Causes and Control, in January 1994.
Peters says no further studies regarding the issue have been conducted at USC. He admits he was under fire from critics.
But Peters blames the national media for taking the story out of context. Often times, news reports did not mention that Peters and other investigators indicated that the studies were too preliminary to establish a cause-and-effect association between hot dogs and disease, and that researchers did not advise people to stop eating hot dogs, Peters claims.
He advises critics to read the study as it appears in Cancer Causes and Control before drawing conclusions.
Bob Schwartz, vice president of sales for Chicago-based Vienna Sausage Manufacturing Co., says reports on the study reflected poor journalism.
"If you mention kids and leukemia, it's going to make front-page news," Schwartz claims. "But there were no facts saying there was any truth behind the study."
Even the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which has conducted studies linking fat and cholesterol to several food items, questioned the study.
"It was premature to scare people with a study like that," Hurley adds.
The fallout of the study-and consumer questions about it-lasted for about one month, Schwartz says.
"People understand that if they believe everything they hear about what they shouldn't eat, they wouldn't eat anything," Schwartz claims.
Most consumers brushed the study off without changing their shopping habits, says Bill Curtis, meat department manager of Bloomington, Ill.-based Cub Foods.
"Every time you turn around there's another study coming out that says something is not good for you," Curtis states.
Back to school
Many consumers are convinced that hot dogs are manufactured with mystery ingredients. They believe hot dogs consist of a variety of meat scraps.
"It's surprising to me how many people don't know that hot dogs are made with the same meat from a supermarket's meat case," says Janet Riley, AMI's director of public affairs. "People think that [hot dog processors] are shoveling up scraps [from the processing floor to use as ingredients], which is absurd. This is something we have to confront."
Riley is heading up the revival of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council to positively promote hot dogs.
"We want to educate consumers about the myths associated with hot dogs," she points out, claiming that they are rich in protein.
The nitrites-that-may-cause-cancer issue also needs to be addressed, Riley adds. Nitrites are added to hot dogs mainly to prevent spoilage. It has been reported that nitrites in hot dogs and other processed meats may react with other food chemicals called amines to form nitrosamines, the alleged cancer-causing substances.
"Nitrosamines are only formed when food is cooked at a very high temperature for a long period of time," Riley claims. "Hot dogs are not cooked that way."
Janet Williams, AMI's vice president of scientific and technical affairs, says most toxicologists and food chemists discount the kinetics of the USC study. The study was blown out of proportion, she adds.
"USDA has a monitoring system to look at nitrosamine formations," Williams points out. "[USDA personnel] are finding that nitrosamines would not be expected to be found in hot dogs, hams or other cured meats."
As for mystery ingredients, Oscar Mayer Corp.'s Jim Aehl recommends that consumers simply check labels on hot dog packages.
"The ingredients are on the package," notes Aehl, the Madison, Wis.-based company's corporate public relations manager. "It's just part of good labeling practice. Too often, people think we are back in the 1900s. This is not 1900. It is 1995, and these are responsible companies."
But hot dog processors should not run and hide when a negative study or controversial issue arises, Aehl notes.
"When I came to Oscar Mayer in 1970, I started hearing complaints about hot dogs," Aehl says.
Oscar Mayer employs a consumer response team. Its food packages list a toll-free number for inquisitive consumers. "You have to make yourself available," Aehl stresses. "Never make believe that a problem doesn't exist or that attacks and criticisms of products are not there. If you do have a problem, work to correct it."
At the market
Overall hot dogs sales have dipped, but more consumers are buying extra-lean hot dogs. Sales of Healthy Choice franks (97 percent fat-free) soared 41.1 percent, and sales of Hormel Food Corp.'s Light And Lean 97 brand (97 percent fat-free) increased 23.1 percent in the 52-week period ending Oct. 9, 1994, according to Information Services.
At the other end of the spectrum, sales of private-label brand franks declined 11.9 percent.
Cub Foods' Curtis says consumers have switched "to what they perceive as a healthier hot dog," but overall sales of hot dogs have been status quo at the supermarket. All-beef hot dogs are also more in demand, he adds.
"Sales of turkey hot dogs have dropped considerably in the last year," Curtis claims. "Chicken hot dogs are no longer our big-sellers."
Further east, consumers are also purchasing more low-fat hot dogs, claims Bill Conrad, meat department manager for Johnstown, Pa.-based Giant Eagle.
"And it's not just hot dogs," Conrad adds. "People are buying several low-fat meats."
Lee Johnson, owner of Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Isla Vista Market, says overall meat sales have dropped but hot dogs remain decent sellers. Johnson's market is located near the University of Santa Barbara, and college students comprise a large portion of his customer base. But they mostly purchase poultry-based hot dogs, he notes.
"[The students] tend to think of meat as bad, but we still sell a lot of hot dogs," Johnson points out. "It is a value food."
Better days?
Despite the dip in overall sales, the USC study and what may be a significant consumer move toward purchasing extra-lean franks, sales of Oscar Mayer's regular brand hot dogs increased 7.6 percent in the previously stated 52-week period measured by Information Services.
Chuck Levitt, senior meat analyst for Chicago-based Alaron Trading Corp., predicts that overall hot dog sales will increase in 1995 because of an oversupply of meat. "There will be no shortages of meat in 1995, and that means cheap hot dog prices for the consumer," Levitt says.
Lighten up?
Hurley of the Center for Science in the Public Interest insists the biggest problem with the typical hot dog is fat and saturated fat, not nitrites.
"[Processors] need to introduce more brands of low-fat hot dogs," Hurley says. "Fat is the biggest drawback for hot dogs."
Others claim negative reports and criticisms are the major drawbacks for hot dogs?
Do consumers-not hot dogs-need to lighten up when it comes to eating and diet?
AMI's Riley points out that a hot dog is a food, not a diet.
"Moderation is the key," Riley insists.
Catherine Broihier, a registered dietitian, noted in the February 1994 issue of Current Health magazine that some brands of hot dogs get 70 percent of their calories from fat. But an occasional hot dog can be part of a healthy diet, she points out.
"There are people who run out to the hot dog stand everyday," Broihier tells MM&T. "That's overdoing it. But eating a hot dog a couple times a month is not overdoing it."
Has the hot dog received unjust treatment? Its reputation is far from being squeaky clean, but is image everything?
Analyst Levitt recalls the bacon bashing in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Bacon was cited for its high-fat and sodium content, as well as containing nitrites. Bacon's image had been battered.
In the midst of the bashing, pork production increased and bacon prices plummeted. Retailers advertised their low prices, and many fast-food operators began promoting burgers topped with bacon.
"We're consuming bacon like it's going out of style," Levitt claims. "People like the taste of bacon."
Levitt claims hot dogs are following a similar course.
"Nothing drives consumer demand more than price," Levitt says. "And people like the taste of hot dogs."
Babe Ruth did.