Are Ball Park Hot Dogs Gluten Free? (Finally Answered!)

Do you know if Ball Park hot dogs are gluten free? this is one of the questions our readers ask a lot. Well, we´ve got you covered.

If you are gluten free, you may have wondered which hot dog brands are safe for you to eat. Famous brands like Ball Park hot dogs are sometimes a bit cagey about whether their products are actually totally gluten free or not.

So, are Ball Park hot dogs gluten free? Many of Ball Park’s hot dog varieties do not contain gluten, the brand is not certified gluten free. So, despite not containing any gluten ingredients, special measures are not taken to prevent cross-contamination. If you are gluten free, it may be best to play it safe with this brand.

The remainder of this article will go into detail about which Ball Park hot dogs are “gluten free,” what certified gluten free means, and why you may run the risk of cross-contamination.

Are Ball Park hot dogs gluten free?

As we said before, the answer to this question is both yes and no. Many hot dogs produced by Ball Park do not technically contain any gluten ingredients.

So, you may consider them gluten free. If you choose to be gluten free because of a diet and not an allergy, these hot dogs may be totally fine for you to eat.

However, since they are not labeled gluten free, these hot dogs do run the risk of cross contamination with ingredients or other products that do contain gluten.

Read also: Are Kirkland Hot Dogs Gluten Free? (Answered!)

Which Ball Park hot dogs do not contain gluten?

Not all of Ball Park’s hot dogs are totally without gluten ingredients, but many of them are. If you are looking for a list of which Ball Park hot dogs do not contain any gluten, check this one out below:

• Angus Beef Franks
• Lean Angus Franks
• Deli Style Beef Franks
• Beef Franks
• Jumbo Beef Franks
• Heart Beef Franks
• Classic Franks
• Cheese Franks
• Turkey Franks
• Smoked White Turkey Franks
• Lean Beef Franks

Are Ball Park hot dogs safe to eat if I am gluten free?

This largely depends upon your individual circumstances. Like we mentioned before, if you are only gluten free as a diet choice, not because of an allergy or celiac disease, then Ball Park’s hot dogs without gluten ingredients will be perfectly safe for you to eat.

You run a mild risk of cross contamination, but it should not be enough gluten contact to have an effect on your diet.

If you are allergic to gluten, or if you suffer from celiac disease, then you might want to be a little more careful with Ball Park franks.

These hot dogs do carry a risk of cross contamination with them, and if the slightest bit of gluten could hurt you, it may not be worth that risk to eat them.

Why do they risk cross contamination?

Although many Ball Park varieties of franks do not contain gluten ingredients, the brand is not certified gluten free.

Certified gluten free means that the food not only does not contain gluten ingredients, but specific measures are also taken to ensure that no cross contamination occurs.

In many cases, this means that the food is manufactured in an entirely gluten free facility. The food is also tested by a third party to ensure that there is absolutely no amount of gluten in it, however small.

Since Ball Park is not certified gluten free, there remains a possibility that the hot dogs could come into contact with gluten at some point.

That is what cross contamination means—that the hot dogs could have been contaminated with gluten at some point, even though they do not directly contain gluten themselves. So, it is not completely risk free to eat them if you are gluten free.

Read also: Are Kirkland Hot Dogs Dairy-Free? (Explained!)

Does Ball Park claim to have any gluten free hot dogs?

No, Ball Park does not claim to be gluten free. In fact, Hillshire Farms, the parent company of Ball Park, stated in an email to the Gluten Free Bar that they do not test for gluten and refused to certify that any of their products were in fact gluten free.

So, the brand themselves acknowledge that cross contamination is possible and advise consumers to be cautious.

Are any other brands of hot dogs totally gluten free?

Yes! There are several other brands of hot dogs which do not contain gluten ingredients, and there are even a couple that are actually certified gluten free.

If you are on a strict no-gluten diet, it is probably best to stick to one of the certified gluten free brands. Some certified gluten free hot dog brands include:

• Dietz & Watson
• Sabrett

These two brands are guaranteed to not only be completely gluten free in their ingredients, but there is also no risk of contamination.

Some other brands which are also labeled (but not certified) gluten free include:

• Applegate Farms
• Bar-S
• Hoffy
• Jennie-O

Applegate Farms actually manufactures their hot dogs in a completely gluten free facility. So, although their brand is not certified gluten free, you can rest assured that they are very safe about cross contamination.

Some other brands, like Oscar Mayer, are not labeled gluten free, but they have many varieties of hot dogs that do not contain gluten ingredients.

Like Ball Park, it is best to treat these brands with caution, and if you are strictly gluten-free, to stick to a brand which is guaranteed to be totally without the risk of cross contamination.

Conclusion

So, are Ball Park hot dogs gluten free? The answer is complex. Yes, technically many of the hot dog varieties are made without any gluten ingredients.

However, Ball Park is not a certified gluten free brand. So, you do run the risk of cross contamination with products or ingredients that may contain gluten.

If you suffer from celiac disease or if you have a severe gluten allergy, it is probably safest to avoid Ball Park’s hot dogs.

However, if you are simply gluten free as a diet choice, these hot dogs will be perfectly safe for you to eat. If you are looking for a certified gluten free brand, try Dietz & Watson or Sabrett.

References

https://urbantastebud.com/gluten-free-hot-dogs/