Purnell's "Old Folks" Mild Italian Sausage, Mild Italian
F.B. Purnell Sausage Co., Inc. · Sausages, Hotdogs & Brats · barcode 00070505232855
What stands out
- From the label
The ingredients list BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), which has stricter rules elsewhere. Strictest: West Virginia ban from 2028. Details
- Lab testsNo lab has published results for this exact product.
- RecallsNo FDA recall lists this barcode.
- Additives1 ingredient has stricter rules elsewhere. Strictest: West Virginia ban from 2028. Which
- TypicalFDA's tests of sausages, hotdogs & brats show what's typical. See levels
Additives with restrictions somewhere
From the ingredient list on file (label data dated 2023-04-27). Recipes change, so check the package you have.
Rules that apply to more than one of these
- US (FDA): Allowed FDA allows it as a preservative. Source. Applies to all of them.
- EU: Allowed (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008) Source. Applies to all of them.
- Texas: Warning label required from 2027-01-01 Labels developed on or after January 1, 2027 must warn that the product contains an ingredient not recommended for consumption in Australia, Canada, the EU or the UK. (SB 25 (2025)) Source. Applies to all of them.
- Louisiana: Banned in school meals from 2028-2029 school year Banned in Louisiana school food from the 2028-2029 school year (concession stands and vending machines exempt). (SB 14, Act 463 (2025)) Source. Applies to all of them.
- Louisiana: Warning label required from 2028-01-01 Products containing it must carry a QR code disclosure from January 1, 2028. (SB 14, Act 463 (2025)) Source. Applies to all of them.
BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) (E320)
- West Virginia: Banned from 2028-01-01 Food containing it is treated as adulterated in West Virginia from January 1, 2028. (HB 2354 (2025)) Source
BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) (E321)
Only the shared rules above.
Typical for sausages, hotdogs & brats
What FDA found when it bought and tested this kind of food across the US. These are not tests of this product.
- Perchlorate: typically 5.5 ppb (FDA, 40 samples, 2008-2012).
A toddler reaches EPA's daily limit at about 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) a day; an adult at about 6.9 kg (15 lb).One serving (1 cooked link, 85 g, from the label):6% of a toddler's daily limit1% of an adult's daily limit
- Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Arsenic (total): usually below 4 ppb, the lab's limit, in FDA's samples.
FDA samples behind these numbers
- Lead in Frankfurter (all beef/beef and pork), boiled: found in 7 of 22 samples, average 1.67, highest 7.1 ppb (2017-2020)
- Lead in Pork sausage (link/patty), pan-cooked: found in 6 of 27 samples, average 1, highest 4.9 ppb (2017-2020)
- Cadmium in Frankfurter (all beef/beef and pork), boiled: found in 20 of 22 samples, average 2.85, highest 4.8 ppb (2017-2020)
- Cadmium in Pork sausage (link/patty), pan-cooked: found in 2 of 27 samples, average 0.09, highest 1.3 ppb (2017-2020)
- Mercury in Frankfurter (all beef/beef and pork), boiled: found in 0 of 22 samples, all below 1 ppb (2017-2020)
- Mercury in Pork sausage (link/patty), pan-cooked: found in 0 of 27 samples, all below 1 ppb (2017-2020)
- Arsenic (total) in Frankfurter (all beef/beef and pork), boiled: found in 2 of 22 samples, average 0.33, highest 4.2 ppb (2017-2020)
- Arsenic (total) in Pork sausage (link/patty), pan-cooked: found in 0 of 27 samples, all below 3 ppb (2017-2020)
- Perchlorate in Frankfurter (beef/pork), boiled: found in 18 of 20 samples, average 11, highest 36 ppb (2008-2012)
- Perchlorate in Pork sausage (link/patty), oven-cooked: found in 7 of 20 samples, average 3.15, highest 41 ppb (2008-2012)
"Typically" is FDA's middle sample. Daily amounts use the long-run average and each chemical's daily limit (EPA reference dose, or FDA's level for lead) for a 33-lb toddler and a 154-lb adult. ppb = micrograms per kilogram of food. Source: FDA Total Diet Study.
Not tested
No published results for this product cover: Metals, Perchlorate, Phthalates (plastic softeners), Phthalate substitutes, Bisphenols. That means nobody has published a test, not that these are absent.
Ingredients (from the label)
PORK, WATER, SALT, SPICES (INCLUDES PEPPER AND FENNEL), PAPRIKA (COLOR), GARLIC POWDER, BHA, BHT, CITRIC ACID. PRODUCT ENCLOSED IN A NATURAL HOG CASING.
From USDA FoodData Central, label dated 2023-04-27. Labels change; check the package.