Why You Should Leave Ball Park Hot Dogs Out Of Your Shopping Cart

Jenny Kellerhals Keogh/Mashed

With so many hot dog options at the supermarket, it can be hard to know which to choose, especially if you haven't tasted a range of brands yourself. But if you ask us, Ball Park franks are one type of hot dog you shouldn't buy. In fact, in our taste-tested ranking of 11 hot dog brands, we gave Ball Park's Bun Size Beef hot dogs the ninth spot. 

In her analysis, she found that they were one of the pricier options, despite being "only slightly beefy" in flavor. She notes that an eight-pack costs $8.49, or about $1.06 per dog. All-beef hot dogs are typically more expensive than pork or chicken hot dogs, so the cost isn't completely unreasonable. But if you consider that a 24-pack of Sam's Club beef hot dogs costs 54 cents per dog, or that a six-pack of Trader Joe's uncured beef hot dogs comes out to 67 cents a piece, you'll see that Ball Park is more expensive than some competitors — and it doesn't necessarily pay off.

Kellerhals Keogh said she'll still buy Ball Park dogs ahead of a cookout if they're on sale. But if you want a beef alternative that's tastier and cheaper, Nathan's, Oscar Mayer, and Trader Joe's are all contenders. For organic eaters, there's Aldi's Simply Nature beef dogs. For heftier servings, consider Costco's Kirkland Signature Beef Dinner Franks, which weigh in at a quarter-pound each and receive rave reviews. 

Jenny Kellerhals Keogh/Mashed

Hot dogs are far from health food. They're generally high in saturated fat and sodium, and regular consumption of processed meats increases your chances for cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes, so much so that the World Health Organization considers processed meat a human carcinogen.

But did you know that Ball Park hot dogs are known as one of the most unhealthy? The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit that investigates consumer product safety, gave Ball Park's Uncured Beef Franks the most egregious score possible (a 10), mostly for its low quality, ultra-processed ingredients and high saturated fat content. Wan Na Chun, MPH, RD, noted that this particular variety contains 35% of your daily sodium and 9 grams of saturated fat per link, "which can raise LDL cholesterol levels" (via Eat This, Not That). That's almost an entire day's worth of saturated fat, according to the American Heart Association, which advises 13 grams or less for a 2,000-calorie diet.

That said, Ball Park removed added nitrates, used for preservation, from its hot dogs in 2017. That's a plus, since they've been linked to increased risks of bowel cancer (via World Cancer Research Fund). Some people swear by the brand's neutral flavor, and if you don't like a hard snap or thick casing, Ball Park's dogs could be right up your alley. Even so, think twice about eating a Ball Park hot dog, as there are healthier and less expensive options out there.