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The meat is cooked and smoked, and sometimes wrapped in a casing that’s made from the gastrointestinal tracts of cows, sheep, or hogs, according to The Journal Times. This is the norm for several varieties of sausage, and it sure beats synthetic casings, which can be made from collagen and sometimes plastic. However, the casings are often removed before the product is sold commercially.
Mortadella vs. Bologna
Although it’s now one of America’s favorite sandwich fillings, the lunch staple was named after the city of Bologna in northern Italy—even though Italians would turn their noses up at the stuff we’re sandwiching between two slices of white bread. (And don’t forget the processed American cheese!)
Their version of bologna—known as mortadella—has different colored spots on its surface. That’s because it contains bits of fat, peppercorns, and sometimes sliced pistachios. In the U.S., on the other hand, the USDA says all cooked sausages (including bologna and hot dogs) must be comminuted, or “reduced to minute particles.” In other words, the ingredients are emulsified and churned into a homogenous pink meat paste. As The Huffington Post puts it, “Mortadella is to bologna as fresh, roasted turkey on Thanksgiving is to sliced turkey lunchmeat.”
What’s in Your Bologna
Oscar Mayer, one of the best-known bologna producers, sells one bologna variety made from “mechanically separated” chicken and pork, with a little bit of beef added in. According to the USDA, “Mechanically separated meat is a paste-like and batter-like meat product produced by forcing bones, with attached edible meat, under high pressure through a sieve or similar device to separate the bone from the edible meat tissue.”
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