South Korea’s obsession with starchy toothpicks

In South Korea, a strange culinary trend that uses an unusual ingredient has gained popularity on social media. Numerous videos circulating on the Internet show people boiling or frying chopsticks.

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What do South Koreans sell?

South Korea's obsession with starchy toothpicks
South Korean restaurants and supermarkets regularly sell colored chopsticks | Image: YouTube screenshot

Restaurants and supermarkets in South Korea regularly sell colored toothpicks made from corn or sweet potato starch. These chopsticks differ significantly from the wooden chopsticks used in India.

People use starch-based chopsticks because they are more sustainable. However, the South Korean government is concerned about the growing number of people ingesting them and the associated health problems.

Why are authorities issuing a warning?

#녹말이쑤시개 먹는 제품이 아닙니다! ❌녹말이쑤시개는 #위생용품 입니다!위생용품은 성분·제조방법·용도에 대한 기준·규격에 따라 안전성이 관리되고 있으나 #식품으로서 안전성은 검증된 바 없습니다. #섭취하지마세요! ❌ pic.twitter.com/OPNMDc1ofq

— 식품의약품안전처 (@TheMFDS) January 24, 2024

On January 24, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety issued a warning, warning and urging people not to eat or cook with chopsticks. “Its safety as food has not been confirmed.

Please don’t consume them,” the authority said in a post on warning on Chopsticks that say “Do not eat” are scary. “Social networks must disappear.”

Another person wrote: “Look for toothpicks from South Korea. They are made with corn or potato starch and sorbitol, a fruit sugar alcohol. Green food coloring is often added. “They are meant to be biodegradable, not exactly ingested.”

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What other unusual things are on the South Korean market?

This isn’t the only unusual and perhaps harmful food trend that has become widespread on social media.

In early 2018, the “Tide Pod Challenge” encouraged people to consume Tide Pods, a laundry detergent product used in washing machines. The challenge resulted in multiple poisonings. In reaction, Google and Facebook removed videos featuring the challenge.

Check out the videos that appear here.

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Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn

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