Credits: Social Media
Food safety expert warns against TikTok’s ‘Fluffy Popcorn’ as Halloween treat ‘risks serious illness’
A food safety expert has warned against jumping on the TikTok fluffy popcorn trend because, while it might sound delicious, you could develop a “serious foodborne illness” as a result.
TikTok is a great place to find advice from experts like the Gynecologist-backed period hack. Unfortunately, it’s also home to some pretty destructive trends that could pose a risk to your health. But one example could be sunburning which people use to rid themselves of acne.
Big fluffy popcorn is all the rage on TikTok
As we hurtle toward Halloween and its many weird traditions, many people are gearing up to host spooky parties or kids knocking at their door. You of course want your house to stand out, but you might want to choose something that won’t leave your guests sick because that’s exactly what fluffy popcorn will do.
The latest TikTok trend entails mixing ready-made popcorn with a concoction of raw cake batter, sprinkles, and any other sweets you can get your hands on. It’s not unlike the candy salad from a few months ago.
Though it might be yummy, it could also leave you seriously ill, Mitzi Baum, CEO of Stop Foodborne Illness, said.
“Flour doesnt look like a raw food, but most flour is raw. This means that it hasnt been treated to kill germs that cause food poisoning,” he revealed. “Any raw (unbaked) flour can be contaminated with germs like Salmonella. Salmonella germs are killed when flour is cooked or baked, but eating it raw risks developing a serious foodborne illness.”
If you want to take part In the trend without ending up bed-bound for a few days, then omit the cake mix for purely melted butter, marshmallows, and sweets.
If one warning wasn’t enough, we’ve got another
If you’re still considering the fluffy popcorn trend despite Mitzi Baum’s warning, then here’s to hoping a microbiologist’s expert opinion is enough to dissuade you.
Taking to TikTok, @bloodflower said: “Hey, if you value your kidneys, your liver, your colon, you dont wanna get colon cancer, autoimmune disease, or potentially lose your life to a stupid snack on TikTok, you should watch this video. Did you know that when you eat raw dough, raw batter, raw cake mix, you are more at risk for getting a bacterial disease from the raw flour than you are from the raw egg?
She continued to point out that just because you’ve eaten cake batter before, doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous.
You are putting not only yourself, but anyone who eats that food at risk of a hemorrhagic E. coli infection, of an infection with salmonella and all of the things that come along with that. These bacterial infections are not something to mess around with,” she added.
THE FDA also backs up the above statements.
