Based on previous posts, you may have already dropped the hot dog as your "go-to food" ballpark food thanks to how it got there. If you're still on the fence, however, please think twice before you take a bite, based on the findings of a University of Nebraska chemist. Depending on the brand of hot dog, there may be a wide variation in DNA-mutating compounds that cause cancer.

Spurred by research that found consuming hot dogs and other processed meats contributed to colon cancer, scientists tested store-bought and nitrite-rich hot dog extracts (that have been found to form cancer-causing chemicals called N-nitroso compounds) mixed with Salmonella bacteria.

Depending on the brand, hot dog samples exposed to Salmonella as much as quadrupled their normal level of DNA mutation chemicals. By the way, hot dogs aren't the only processed food you have to worry about, as salted dried fish and soy sauce contain similar amounts of nitrites.

Before you swear off beef forever, remember the central issue here is where the hot dog comes from. If you cook meat filled with pesticides, antibiotics and nitrites, you're asking for nothing but trouble. That's why I restrict my diet to grass-fed and organic meats.

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Vol. 54, No. 15, August 2006: 5617-5622

Live Science August 14, 2006

News Net Nebraska August 15, 2006