# Cancerous Hotdogs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 25, 2003, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancerous-hotdogs/184397 "2003-06-25T23:42:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ccline](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@ccline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccline)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancerous-hotdogs/184397/1 "2003-06-25T23:42:06Z")
I’ve heard a rumor that eating charred hotdogs or hamburgers (or anything on the grill) charred with a **charcoal** grill (not a gas grill) can cause cancer. Apparently there is a chemical reaction that takes place when the meat is burned and consuming it can cause cancer. Have any of you heard anything supporting this rumor? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancerous-hotdogs/184397/2 "2003-06-25T23:44:28Z")
[Some information here.](http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_ACS_Expert_Offers_Tips_on_Healthy_Holiday_Grilling.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancerous-hotdogs/184397/3 "2003-06-25T23:53:54Z")
There is something supporting the rumour. Burned meat prodcues hetrocyclic amines. Burned starches produces acrylamide. Both of these substances have experimentally produced cancer in rats. Of course as some wag once noted, \*everything ever tested \*has experimentally produced cancer in rats. 😉 The trouble is the evidence of these things, especially when ingested in food, causng cancer in humans is shaky at best. Humans aren’t rats. Added to this obvious difference, we’ve been using fire to burn our food for thousands of generations. There has been a strong selective pressure against such a susceptibility. Basically it comes under the heading of ‘not enough evidence to warrant concern’. But feel free to worry and forego you barbecues if you wish. ---
**Author:** ![gypsymoth3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@gypsymoth3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gypsymoth3)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancerous-hotdogs/184397/4 "2003-06-26T01:50:40Z")
i heard that you’re not supposed to eat more than 2 hotdogs/month, but i can’t remember why. is it supposed to cause cancer (of course) or someting specific like that or is it just overall bad for you? ---
**Author:** ![tranetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71c47a/32.png) [@tranetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tranetech)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancerous-hotdogs/184397/5 "2003-06-26T01:55:04Z")
In all reality, one should never eat a hot dog. Lips and assholes, lips and assholes… nothing else. Trantech ---
**Author:** ![Fuel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Fuel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuel)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancerous-hotdogs/184397/6 "2003-06-26T04:23:21Z")
I’ve done research on burning beef before and of course I don’t remember specifics. But what I do remember is that you _really_ have to char it a lot in order to make it cancerous (carcinogenic). Now hot dogs might be a different story. I have no idea what is on the outside of a hot dog and what happens when it gets burned. Hot dogs scare me, but they do taste good. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancerous-hotdogs/184397/7 "2003-06-26T04:29:46Z")
> [@](#): > > what I do remember is that you _really_ have to char it a lot in order to make it … (carcinogenic). Do you mean that you actually produced carcinomas in animals using charred meat? Or are you simply stating that you have to char it a lot to produce to heterocyclic amines, that may or may not be carcinogenic? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancerous-hotdogs/184397/8 "2003-06-26T04:43:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tranetech \* > \*\*In all reality, one should never eat a hot dog. Lips and assholes, lips and assholes… nothing else. \*\* I heard they were made of TLC\* \*\*\*\*\*_tongues, lungs & cocks_ ---
**Author:** ![Fuel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Fuel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuel)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancerous-hotdogs/184397/9 "2003-06-26T16:05:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Blake \* > \*\*Do you mean that you actually produced carcinomas in animals using charred meat? > > Or are you simply stating that you have to char it a lot to produce to heterocyclic amines, that may or may not be carcinogenic? \*\* To tell you the truth, I’m not sure. As I stated, don’t remember specifics, just that it’s bad. I had a bad feeling about typing that “carcinogenic” word. Turns out there is a big difference between cancerous & carcinogenic… need to react to those bad feelings so you experts don’t have to waste time correcting my ambiguity. :smack: Sorry.