Beware of a New and Dangerous TikTok Trend of Frying Toothpicks and Eating Them

Here we go. Another social media trend that is going viral but could also be dangerous for anyone in Texas or around the world. Folks in South Korea have discovered that a certain toothpick can be fried and eaten. Problem is, these toothpicks have not been certified as an edible product. Another problem is that some believe this could lead to people outside of South Korea wanting to try to fry wood based or even plastic toothpicks to make them seem edible. Let's go down this rabbit hole of ridiculousness, shall we?

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Frying Toothpick Trend in South Korea

A while back, a toothpick was introduced in South Korea that is made of sweet potato or corn starch. These were created as a more eco-friendly product. Restaurants all over South Korea have these toothpicks for their customers to use after meals. It was discovered that these toothpicks could be fried like a potato chip and eaten. Some would even add spicy seasoning or cheese dust to give them some flavor. Problem is, according to the South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, these toothpicks are a sanitary product and not intended to be edible as they don't know exactly what is in them other than the starch (CBS).

This is not in the U.S. so why should I be concerned?

Well, as asinine as it sounds, some believe that people will start frying wood based toothpicks, or even plastic ones, and start eating those. Obviously, these can be very dangerous to ingest as they are made specifically to pick food out of your teeth, not to consume.

@frying66.6 @도션초코 님에게 회신 녹말이쑤시개튀김 500개 나왔습니다! #Toothpick #녹말이쑤시개 #asmr #asmrtiktoks #asmrvideo #asmrsounds #asmrcooking #cookingasmr #kfood ♬ dance! (sped up vers) - deyluvkirby & eddyoetty & фрози

Other Dangerous Social Media Trends

This is the downside of social media. So called influencers will get on a social media platform and issue a challenge for their followers to try without regard for how dangerous it could be. There was a real trend, believe it or not, in 2022 that had teenagers or young adults cooking chicken in NyQuil as a way to relieve symptoms of COVID-19. Yes, that was a real thing. Luckily that was quickly shut down and people came to their senses and realized how dangerous it is (poison.org).

Talk to Your Kids and Young Adults

Talk to your kids about the dangers of these social media challenges. Most of the time, these are based on faulty information which will lead to dangerous results.