U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors are stationed at every U.S. meatpacking plant, where they look for signs of illness upon entry, conduct random samples to detect whether the meat contains antibiotics and where they inspect the organs and skin of the slaughtered pigs for disease.

WSJ: What China Can Learn From America's Hot Dogs

It's all about the skin, each gleaming, crisp scallop of which bears a slender, super-tender cargo of meat and fat (which shouldn't need the hyped-up hoisin sauce it's often served with).

WSJ: Let Them Eat Fat: In Praise of Fatty Foods