South Korea warns people to stop eating fried toothpicks

In a press release published on December 23, the Korean Food Ministry issued a health warning regarding the trend of eating “fried toothpicks” that is popular on social media in the country. The ministry said: “Toothpicks are classified as hygiene products, not food, so they have not been confirmed as safe for consumers.”

Hygiene products are defined as products used daily, which have direct or indirect contact with the body, such as disposable cups, cutlery, straws and even toothpicks.

“We are trying to ensure the safety of using sanitary products by setting standards for ingredients, manufacturing methods and usage, but we advise against eating starch toothpicks as they have not been confirmed to be safe to eat,” the ministry stressed.

The ministry's announcement comes as the mukbang trend of these "starch toothpick" dishes is "making waves" on social media platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and attracting great attention from children and teenagers in Korea.

three wars.jpg — A Korean YouTuber shows off a plate of freshly fried toothpicks. Screenshot

The toothpicks used in the videos above are made from cornstarch or potato starch mixed with sorbitol, alum, and food coloring. Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol, and alum is a chemical compound found in baking powder; they are harmless when eaten in small amounts, but can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and gastritis in excess.

“While watching mukbang on YouTube, I saw a video of french fries made from toothpicks,” one YouTuber shared. She then “jumped on the trend” by trying her hand at making this dish. She fried the toothpicks in a pan of oil and then poured sauce over the fried toothpicks. “They were delicious,” she said as she ate. The video has now garnered more than 4.4 million views.

Some users even shared suggestions for spicing up the dish. On the other hand, many people were wary of it, especially parents. “I’ve heard of kids asking for French fries after watching these videos on YouTube,” one parent posted on an online community of mothers.

"I don't understand kids eating them. There are so many delicious foods out there and they fry toothpicks and eat them with soup. Toothpicks have absolutely no taste," one user commented on TikTok.

The toothpick eating trend in Korea is not the first time that governments have had to deal with people eating strange objects.

In 2018, the trend of eating Tide Pod laundry detergent pods - these laundry detergent pods are designed to resemble colorful candy - became popular on social networks. The consequences of this trend were many dangerous poisoning cases. P&G, the manufacturer of this line of laundry detergent pods, had to continuously post warnings asking users not to eat them.

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