Eating trends sometimes arise on social media that can be very surprising - and sometimes dangerous. The so-called hot chip challenge has become more famous in Germany, in which mostly young people eat one or more chips that are as hot as possible as a test of courage. A completely different and yet somehow very similar trend has recently become established in South Korea: people are frying and eating toothpicks made from food starch - apparently they do this in such large numbers that the country's Ministry of Food has now felt compelled to warn against their consumption.
The safety of the toothpicks has not been checked, according to a post by the authority on X, formerly Twitter. "Please do not eat (them)." On its website, the ministry specified that these were hygiene products, not food. »Therefore, it is not advisable to eat toothpicks containing starch.«
There are currently numerous videos circulating on the Internet showing how toothpicks are fried in oil. The hygiene products made from sweet potato or corn starch are considered environmentally friendly and biodegradable, as the Reuters news agency reports. Food coloring is often used to give a green hue. According to many users, after frying they are a little reminiscent of French fries. The clips, which show people eating condiments such as powdered cheese, have received thousands of likes on TikTok and Instagram.
The toothpick recordings fit into a trend that has been around in South Korea for several years: so-called mukbang videos are popular in the country. These show people eating enormous amounts of food or extremely unusual dishes. Psychologists explain the popularity of the streams, among other things, by the fact that the richly laid tables give the feeling of a shared meal.
sol/Reuters