This is how you make shaved ice from frozen fruits/TIKTOK
Health officials in South Korea recently urged the public not to eat deep-fried toothpicks after videos of the controversial act began to explode on social media, Reuters reports.
"This is not an edible product," wrote South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
"Their safety has not been verified," he warned.
But just before you are shocked, it is important to explain that these are toothpicks made of starch, such as sweet potato or corn.
They are indeed intended only to protect the environment - but there are those who, as mentioned, choose to eat them on the grounds that they are "crunchy".
The strange pastime involves frying the toothpicks, so that they swell in the pan and become a kind of curly fries, as can be seen in the videos circulating on Tiktok, Instagram and YouTube.
Then add cheese powder and other spices to them and eat.
Again we note that unlike the Western world, most toothpicks in South Korea are made of corn or potato starch.
Although starch is a basic ingredient found in many foods, this of course does not mean that they can be eaten.
In addition, in this case, the starch is mixed with sorbitol, a type of sugar alcohol that is also used as a natural laxative in large concentrations.
Add to it green food coloring that gives them the color.
Despite their seemingly environmentally friendly properties, it is not, as mentioned, a product intended for eating.
Frying toothpicks is part of a larger trend called "mukbang videos", where gluttonous content people (many of them Asian) record themselves eating excessive amounts of Asian cuisine foods.
The Chinese government banned these videos in 2021 in an effort to prevent food waste.
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