hot dogs – ReportWire

Smithfield Foods to buy LI-based Nathan’s Famous for $450M | Long Island Business News

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Frankie, the mascot for Nathan’s Famous hot dogs, excites the audience at the official weigh-in ceremony, ahead of the Coney Island’s 2025 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York City on July 3, 2025. / REUTERS file photo by Angelina Katsanis

U.S. pork processor Smithfield Foods will buy century-old Nathan’s Famous in a $450 million deal that adds the most iconic U.S. hot dog name to its portfolio of brands, the company said Wednesday.

Smithfield Foods is the licensee of Nathan’s Famous pre-packaged hot dogs, selling a wide variety of these beef franks at more than 20,000 supermarkets and wholesale club stores nationwide.

Smithfield will pay $102 per share, a nearly 10% premium to Nathan’s close on Tuesday. Nathan’s shares were up about 9% at $100.94 in premarket trading.

Smithfield already holds an exclusive license to manufacture and sell Nathan’s Famous products in the United States and Canada and at Sam’s Club stores in Mexico.

Shares of Smithfield, a majority-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed WH Group rose about 2%. The stock gained roughly 6% in 2025 after its market debut.

Nathan’s Famous, which has its headquarters at One Jericho Plaza in Jericho, began as a hot dog stand in 1916, founded by immigrant Nathan Handwerker with $300 borrowed from entertainers Jimmy Durante and Eddie Cantor, and initially sold hot dogs for 5 cents. The brand later expanded nationwide under the leadership of Handwerker’s son, Murray.

The brand is known for its annual hot dog-eating competition held at Nathan’s Coney Island on July 4 every year, where winners are awarded a “mustard belt” for eating the most hot dogs. Last year, Joey Chestnut was declared the men’s champion after he devoured 70.5 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, according to the company’s website.

“The Nathan’s Famous acquisition is a meaningful step in the progression of Smithfield Foods, allowing us to own all of the top brands in our Packaged Meats portfolio,” Smithfield CEO Shane Smith said.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of this year, Smithfield said.

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Reuters

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January 21, 2026

How Healthy Are Baruka Nuts? | NutritionFacts.org

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How do barukas, also known as baru almonds, compare with other nuts?

There is a new nut on the market called baru almonds, branded as “barukas” or baru nuts. Technically, it isn’t a nut but a seed native to the Brazilian Savannah, known as the Cerrado, which is now among the most threatened ecosystems on the planet. Over the last 30 years, much of the Cerrado’s ecosystem has been destroyed by extensive cattle ranching and feed crop production to fatten said cattle. If it were profitable not to cut down the native trees and instead sell baru nuts, for example, that could be good for the ecosystem’s health. But what about our health?

“Although baru nuts are popular and widely consumed, few studies report on their biological properties.” They do have a lot of polyphenol phytonutrients, presumably accounting for their high antioxidant activity. (About 90% of their phytonutrients are present in the peel.) Are they nutritious? Yes, but do they have any special health benefits—beyond treating chubby mice?

Researchers found that individuals fed baru nuts showed lower cholesterol, supposedly indicating the nuts “have great potential for dietary use” in preventing and controlling cholesterol problems. But the individuals were rats, not humans, and the baru nuts were compared to lard. Pretty much everything lowers cholesterol compared to lard. Nevertheless, there haven’t been any reports about the effect of baru nut consumption on human health, until this: A randomized, controlled study of humans found that eating less than an ounce a day for six weeks led to a 9% drop in LDL cholesterol. Twenty grams would be about 15 nuts or a palmful.

Like many other nut studies, even though the research subjects were told to add nuts to their regular diets, there was no weight gain, presumably because nuts are so filling that we inadvertently cut down on other foods throughout the day. How good is a 9.4% drop in LDL? It’s the kind of drop we can get from regular almonds, though macadamias and pistachios may work even better, but those were at much higher doses. It appears that 20 grams of baru nuts work as well as 73 grams of almonds. So, on a per-serving basis or a per-calorie basis, baru nuts really did seem to be special.

There are lower-dose nut studies that show similar or even better results. In this one, for instance, people were given 25 grams of almonds for just four weeks and got about a 6% drop in their LDL cholesterol. In another study, after consuming just 10 grams of almonds a day, or just seven individual almonds a day, study participants got more like a 30% drop in LDL during the same time frame as the baru nuts. Three times better LDL at half the dose with regular almonds, as you can see below and at 2:47 in my video Are Baruka Nuts the Healthiest Nut?.

The biggest reason we are more confident in regular almonds than baru almonds is that studies have been done over and over in more than a dozen randomized controlled trials, whereas in the only other cholesterol trial of baru nuts, researchers found no significant benefit for LDL cholesterol, even at the same 20-gram dose given for even longer—a period of eight weeks.

That’s disappointing, but it isn’t the primary reason I would suggest choosing other nuts instead of baru nuts. I would do so because we can’t get raw baru nuts. They contain certain compounds that must be inactivated by heat before we can eat them. The reason raw nuts are preferable is because of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), so-called glycotoxins, which are known to contribute to increased oxidative stress and inflammation.

Glycotoxins are naturally present in uncooked animal-derived foods, and dry-heat cooking like grilling can make things worse. The three highest recorded levels have been in bacon, broiled hot dogs, and roasted barbecued chicken skin—nothing even comes close to that, not even Chicken McNuggets, as you can see below and at 3:50 in my video.

However, any foods high in fat and protein can create AGEs at high enough temperatures. So, although plant foods tend to “contain relatively few AGEs, even after cooking,” there are some high-fat, high-protein plant foods. But, again, AGEs aren’t a problem at all with most plant foods. See the AGE content in boiled tofu (in a soup, for instance), broiled tofu, a raw apple, a baked apple, a veggie burger—I was surprised that veggie burgers are so low in AGEs, even when baked or fried—and nuts and seeds, which are up in tofu territory, especially when roasted, which is why I would recommend raw nuts and seeds and nut and seed butters whenever you have a choice. See below and at 4:33 in my video.

Doctor’s Note

In my Daily Dozen checklist, I recommend eating a quarter cup of nuts or seeds or two tablespoons of nut or seed butter each day. Why? See related posts below.

For those unfamiliar with advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), check out the first two videos I did on them way back when: Glycotoxins and Avoiding Glycotoxins in Food.

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Michael Greger M.D. FACLM

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December 25, 2025

SoCal cult fave Cupid’s Hot Dogs has reopened … in Longwood

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Credit: Cupid’s Hot Dogs

Love was in the air when Cupid’s Hot Dogs opened its first location outside the Golden State back in 2022 thanks to California transplant (and frequent Cupid’s patron) Chira Chamlongsupalak and her husband, Sorot “Boyd” Chamlongsupalak. The franchise owners quickly found success, and in my June 2022 review, I said Cupid’s bestowed Lee Road with the SoCal vibe it didn’t know it needed.

That said, the location was an odd one — and by late 2024, the Chamlongsupalaks closed Cupid’s with the hopes of reopening it in Seminole County. Well, that hopeful day is here. Cupid’s has soft opened and is now serving its iconic all-beef dogs from the old Parada Restaurant space inside Longwood’s West Lake Plaza at 254 W. State Road 434.

The space has undergone a thorough Californication, but don’t expect roller-skating carhops to deliver Cupid’s signature chili dogs like they do at the original roadside institution in the San Fernando Valley — this is a tight parking lot.

Among the hot dogs being offered at the Longwood location are the Cupid’s original (with chili, mustard and onions), Chicago (mustard, onions, neon relish, tomatoes, sport peppers, pickle and celery salt), NY (mustard, cheese, sauerkraut) and Carolina (a chili cheese dog with cole slaw).

And in a very Orlando sort of twist, Cupid’s will also serve Venezuelan arepas fashioned by Mailyn Rondon and Manny Galindo of Masa Arepas by the time it celebrates its grand opening on Dec. 5. Cupid’s will run a special “grand opening week” promotion of $1 combos (chips and a drink) with every hot dog purchase and a free drink with the purchase of two arepas.

Follow Cupid’s Hot Dogs @cupids_hotdogs or visit cupidshotdogs.info.

Furloughed IRS tax attorney starts second career running popular hot dog stand – WTOP News

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A furloughed tax attorney is turning his childhood dream into a reality with more time on his hands during the nearly monthlong government shutdown.

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Furloughed IRS tax attorney fulfills his childhood dream of running a hot dog stand

A furloughed federal tax attorney is turning his childhood dream into a reality with more time on his hands during the nearly monthlong government shutdown.

Furloughed IRS tax attorney Isaac Stein, 31, is selling hot dogs from his “Shysters Dogs” stand, whose motto is “the only honest rip off in D.C.”

For Stein, running a food stand is a childhood dream, and he’s using the government shutdown as an opportunity to live it out.

“There you are, ma’am,” Stein said to a customer Wednesday. “Don’t forget your soft drink. Thank you so much.”

At lunchtime, the long line at 1st and M streets Northeast to get a hot dog from Stein’s stand is sometimes 25 people deep. He cooks the food and runs the business himself.

Looking like the IRS tax lawyer he is, Stein was dressed Wednesday in a black suit, a crisp white button down and red tie. He said he’s having a wonderful time selling hot dogs during the shutdown.

“I love that there’s a wide mix of customers here. There are people in service industries, there are government workers, there are tech workers. I love learning from everyone,” he told WTOP. “It was a combination of really liking the community here, which that’s the majority here. And then I’d say 25 to 30% of the reason is logistics.”

Stein sells his unique style hot dogs — with mustard and sauerkraut — and an RC Cola for $10. He said he sells the less-popular RC Cola because he believes it’s the best tasting soft drink.

Anticipating a government shutdown, Stein started the permitting process with the city in September and opened on Oct. 8.

Stein stores his wheeled cart stand nearby at a commercial kitchen and pushes it about a half mile to and from his spot each day.

“This is a blast. I get to hang out with people, talk to people all day. I love learning,” he said.

His customers are enthralled with the business.

Carol Banta, who stood in line for a while, is also a government lawyer. She said her agency is “still operating.”

“It’s a nice day and we need lunch!” she said.

Others including Retha Maddox waited in line for 30 minutes to get a hot dog.

“I want to support Isaac. I think what he is doing is great! I hate that he is laid off,” she said.

Stein said due to his success, he’ll continue the business on the weekends once the shutdown ends. But he doesn’t plan to quit his day job.

“I absolutely intend to return to my federal job, as soon as I can. Whenever I’m called back, I intend to go back to the office, and the idea from there is to do this on weekends,” he said.

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Dan Ronan

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October 29, 2025

Jump onboard the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile with this tour from the ‘hotdoggers’

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Standing 24 hot dogs tall and 60 hot dogs long, the iconic Oscar Mayer’s Wienermobile is hard to miss during a recent stop at the Valley Junction Farmers’ Market in West Des Moines.

Kids and adults alike were gathered outside to do a ring toss while competing for an iconic prize: A tiny, hot-dog-shaped whistle.

The Wienermobile touring through Iowa recently is one of six, and part of a tradition that has lived on for the last 38 years.

What does it take to be a hotdogger in the Wienermobile?

The Wienermobiles are manned by “hotdoggers” who travel across different regions of the United States advertising Oscar Mayer and bringing smiles to each city. The hotdoggers typically stay around a metro area anywhere from four days to a week.

To be a driver, candidates must pass a two-week training course called Hotdog High. The current class driving around the country is the 38th group. The hotdoggers consist of college seniors and post-graduate students, many of whom are in marketing.

What is the Wienermobile made of?

Both the hot dog and the bun are made out of fiberglass. On the inside, there is a ketchup walkway with what looks like spilled mustard on the condiment carpet.

There are six ketchup and mustard colored seats with a gull-wing door and automatic retractable steps. The entire hot dog vehicle weighs 14,050 pounds, or 140,500 hot dogs.

What’s the Wienermobile’s schedule in Iowa?

You can track the Wienermobile’s journey across the country on Oscar Mayer’s website. The Wienermobile is visiting the Norwalk Music Fest from 2:30-8:30 p.m. on Sept. 13. It will then go to Knoxville from noon to 6 p.m. on Sept. 14.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Oscar Mayer’s Wienermobile rolls through Iowa. See inside.

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September 9, 2025

Joey Chestnut relishes victory over Takeru Kobayashi, sets new hot dog-eating record in epic Netflix showdown • Brooklyn Paper

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WWE superstars Rey Mysterio presented Joey Chestnut with a WWE-made custom championship title belt after scoffing a world record-breaking 83 hot dogs and buns on Monday.

Netflix