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“Please Don’t Eat Them”: South Korea Food Ministry Urges People To Stop Frying Toothpicks
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“Please Don’t Eat Them”: South Korea Food Ministry Urges People To Stop Frying Toothpicks

“Please Don’t Eat Them”: South Korea Food Ministry Urges People To Stop Frying ToothpicksSouth Korea’s Food Ministry Urges People Not To Eat Fried Toothpicks Made Of StarchFood Ministry Pleads With South Koreans To Stop Eating Fried Toothpicks After Trend Goes ViralTikTokers Are Eating Fried Toothpicks, Prompting A Warning From The South Korean GovernmentSouth Korean Government Warns People Not To Eat Toothpicks After Bizarre TikTok TrendNewest Mukbang Trend Of Eating Fried Toothpicks Has Officials WorriedHealth Concerns Raised As South Koreans Eat Fried Toothpicks With Cornstarch And SeasoningViral Trend Sees South Koreans Eating Fried Toothpicks, Food Ministry Warns Against ItAfter The Act Of Eating Fried Toothpicks Goes Viral In South Korea, Food Ministry Raises ConcernsSouth Korea Urges People To Stop Eating Fried Toothpicks After Trend Goes Viral
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As it turns out, eating fried toothpicks made of starch is not a healthy snack, health authorities have warned.

South Korea’s food ministry reportedly issued a health warning urging people not to eat fried toothpicks made of starch in a shape resembling curly fries after the practice went viral on social media.

Video clips showcased adventurous eaters consuming the deep-fried starch toothpicks with seasoning such as powdered cheese, amassing thousands of likes and shares on TikTok and Instagram, NBC News reported.

Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter) on Wednesday (January 24), the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety wrote: “Their safety as food has not been verified. Please do not eat (them).”

South Korea’s food ministry reportedly issued a health warning urging people not to eat fried toothpicks

Image credits: 배츗츄/Naver

Image credits: 배츗츄/Naver

Viral videos of the toothpicks, which are meant to be sanitary products, show them being fried in oil and eaten. Food coloring has reportedly been used to impart a green hue to the toothpicks, made from sweet potato or corn starch, which are seen as being environmentally friendly and biodegradable, as per NBC news.

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The toothpicks in question are often used in restaurants in South Korea, often utilized to pick up finger foods.

According to local media, an ingredient called sorbitol is used — and while it is harmless in small amounts, it can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and inflammation if overconsumed, as per Sky News.

Video clips showcased adventurous eaters consuming the deep-fried starch toothpicks with seasoning such as powdered cheese

Image credits: 배츗츄/Naver

Image credits: 배츗츄/Naver

“Their safety as food has not been verified. Please do not eat (them),” the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety warned

Image credits: 배츗츄/Naver

As a result of the viral trend, it’s been claimed that young children have been requesting toothpick fries as a result.

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South Korea has produced many food-related trends on the internet, with the biggest known phenomenon being “mukbangs.”

You can watch a clip of the trend below:

Image credits: ABC-CBN News

A mukbang, also known as an eating show, is an online audiovisual broadcast in which a host consumes various quantities of food while interacting with the audience. 

Fame and food-hungry Koreans have become famous through mukbangs, with thousands of Koreans tuning into these online broadcasts and even sending money to performers if entertained, CNBC reported back in 2015.

“Looks like sour gummy worms candy to me,” a reader argued

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Andréa Oldereide

Andréa Oldereide

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I’m a journalist who works for Bored Panda’s News Team. The team, which has been launched on the website fairly recently, produces stories focused on pop culture. Whenever I get the opportunity and the time, I investigate and produce my own exclusive stories, where I get to explore a wider range of topics. Some examples include: “Doberman Tobias the viral medical service dog” and “The lawyer who brought rare uterine cancer that affects 9/11 victims to light”.

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Andréa Oldereide

Andréa Oldereide

Writer, BoredPanda staff

I’m a journalist who works for Bored Panda’s News Team. The team, which has been launched on the website fairly recently, produces stories focused on pop culture. Whenever I get the opportunity and the time, I investigate and produce my own exclusive stories, where I get to explore a wider range of topics. Some examples include: “Doberman Tobias the viral medical service dog” and “The lawyer who brought rare uterine cancer that affects 9/11 victims to light”.

Karina Babenok

Karina Babenok

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As a visual editor in the News team, I look for the most interesting pictures and comments to make each post interesting and informative through images, so that you aren't reading only blocks of text. I joined Bored Panda not that long ago, but in this short amount of time I have covered a wide range of topics: from true crime to Taylor Swift memes (my search history is very questionable because of that).In my freetime, I enjoy spending time at the gym, gaming, binging Great British Bake Off and adding yet another tattoo artist that I would love to get a tattoo from to my pinterest board.

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Karina Babenok

Karina Babenok

Author, BoredPanda staff

As a visual editor in the News team, I look for the most interesting pictures and comments to make each post interesting and informative through images, so that you aren't reading only blocks of text. I joined Bored Panda not that long ago, but in this short amount of time I have covered a wide range of topics: from true crime to Taylor Swift memes (my search history is very questionable because of that).In my freetime, I enjoy spending time at the gym, gaming, binging Great British Bake Off and adding yet another tattoo artist that I would love to get a tattoo from to my pinterest board.

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nikkisevven avatar
danmarshctr avatar
The Original Bruno
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These aren't tide pods. If I understand correctly, these are artificially sweetened, food-quality starch that puffs up when fried into something between a gummy worm and a cheese doodle. I'm not sure why anyone would want to, but they're also not something you'd figure on being poisonous, like Tide Pods. I'm not sure evolution wants to stamp out curiosity.

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juliestevens avatar
Giraffy Window
Community Member
8 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ok you know what? They're made of starch, they fry up exactly the same as rice noodles (SO GOOD), spring roll rice papers, and shrimp chips. Looks like food, cooks like food, marketed as made from biodegradable food ingredients. What they're made of is normally a very common item to consume, so naturally they'd give them a go. The only "inedible" thing about them is the sorbitol, and if you don't know that's an active ingredient in laxatives and as a medicinal sweetener, it really does just read like another food preservative. This is NOT Darwinism, this is poor marketing and bad package labeling.

jujubeez351 avatar
Lunaofthenest (She/they)
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The catch is that sorbitol. As someone who ate three products, all containing sorbitol, in the same day over about 12 hours, I can tell you that they are about to realize why that's no bueno. That stuff should not be legal (ftr, it was 2 sugar free protein bars and a shake/ drink thing) and the outcome is insane amounts of painful bloating, gas and eventually, pretty impressive diarrhea.

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deborahbrett avatar
Deborah B
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Okay... if people want to eat this, just make some food quality starch things for them to fry, and sell them for the same price. "Don't eat that, it's bad for you" has not worked with any other junk food, so try "Those ones are toxic, these ones are safe"

derkommissar avatar
Der Kommissar
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

eating a starch toothpick cannot possibly be as bad as eating a real wooden toothpick

Load More Replies...
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nikkisevven avatar
danmarshctr avatar
The Original Bruno
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These aren't tide pods. If I understand correctly, these are artificially sweetened, food-quality starch that puffs up when fried into something between a gummy worm and a cheese doodle. I'm not sure why anyone would want to, but they're also not something you'd figure on being poisonous, like Tide Pods. I'm not sure evolution wants to stamp out curiosity.

Load More Replies...
juliestevens avatar
Giraffy Window
Community Member
8 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ok you know what? They're made of starch, they fry up exactly the same as rice noodles (SO GOOD), spring roll rice papers, and shrimp chips. Looks like food, cooks like food, marketed as made from biodegradable food ingredients. What they're made of is normally a very common item to consume, so naturally they'd give them a go. The only "inedible" thing about them is the sorbitol, and if you don't know that's an active ingredient in laxatives and as a medicinal sweetener, it really does just read like another food preservative. This is NOT Darwinism, this is poor marketing and bad package labeling.

jujubeez351 avatar
Lunaofthenest (She/they)
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The catch is that sorbitol. As someone who ate three products, all containing sorbitol, in the same day over about 12 hours, I can tell you that they are about to realize why that's no bueno. That stuff should not be legal (ftr, it was 2 sugar free protein bars and a shake/ drink thing) and the outcome is insane amounts of painful bloating, gas and eventually, pretty impressive diarrhea.

Load More Replies...
deborahbrett avatar
Deborah B
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Okay... if people want to eat this, just make some food quality starch things for them to fry, and sell them for the same price. "Don't eat that, it's bad for you" has not worked with any other junk food, so try "Those ones are toxic, these ones are safe"

derkommissar avatar
Der Kommissar
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

eating a starch toothpick cannot possibly be as bad as eating a real wooden toothpick

Load More Replies...
Load More Comments
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