Frankfurters, hot dogs, wieners, bologna...whatever you call them have always been a summertime favorite. They can be made from beef, pork, turkey or chicken -- but the label must tell which. Take a look at some of the guidelines below:

Definition

Frankfurters, hot dogs, wieners or bologna are cooked, smoked sausages. The most popular of all categories, the skinless varieties, have been stripped of their casings after cooking. The finished product may not contain more than 30 percent fat. Water or ice, or both, may be used to facilitate chopping or mixing or to dissolve curing ingredients. Sausages may contain no more than 10 percent water and 30 percent fat or a combination of 40 percent fat and added water. Up to 3.5 percent of nonmeat binders and extenders -- such as nonfat dry milk, cereal, dried whole milk or 2-percent isolated soy protein -- may be used but must be shown in the ingredient statement by its common name.

Byproducts, Variety Meats

Frankfurters, hot dogs, wieners or bologna "with byproducts" or "with variety meats" are made according to the specifications for cooked, smoked sausages (above), except that 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) shall be accompanied by the name of the species from which they are derived and must be individually named in the ingredient statement.