South Korean Viral Trend: What Happens If You Eat Fried Toothpicks?

Because a toothpick is not food, the acids present in the stomach may not be able to break it down, causing wood and/or plastic objects to stay in the intestines. It may cause infection, internal injury and bleeding, and potentially death.

There are foods that you must eat for the sake of your health, and then there are preposterous viral social media trends that you must absolutely stay away from. One such trend emerged from South Korea recently -- that of consuming fried toothpicks. As you must be aware, toothpicks are usually made of wood. They have a pointy end with which to stick it between tough gaps in the teeth and remove food residue after meals.

In South Korea, people have been participating in the bizarre trend of eating fried toothpicks, making authorities issue a warning to forbid them from doing it, owing to health concerns.

According to a CNN story, after many videos of people snacking on deep-fried green starch toothpicks were shared on South Korean social media, the South Korean Food and Drug Safety ministry issued a warning. Similarly, a post shared by @nowthis on Instagram mentioned that the ministry purportedly said in an official statement: "This is not a product to eat! Their safety as food has not been verified."

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It should be noted that while wooden toothpicks are commonly used in many countries including India, toothpicks in South Korea are "typically made from sweet potato or corn starch", which makes them "biodegradable and environmentally friendly", stated @nowthis. These toothpicks also usually have food colouring added.

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When fried, they tend to look like worms or curly fries. They are then eaten with seasonings like spicy powder, cheese and even ketchup. And even if they appear appetising to some, they are not fit for consumption -- the reason being that they are not food! The purpose of a toothpick is to clean the teeth.

A blog post on andersonsmile.com mentions that frequent use of toothpicks can cause "serious harm" to your teeth and gums. For starters, if a toothpick is frequently inserted into the same place, it may put pressure on your teeth and shift them, creating an "extra space that should not be there". Secondly, one must not chew on toothpicks, as it can cause "premature wear and tear on the tooth enamel". In addition to that, toothpicks can also damage the gums by "causing them to recede and expose the fragile tooth roots underneath". And because a toothpick is not food, the acids present in the stomach may not be able to break it down, causing wood and/or plastic objects to stay in the intestines. It may cause infection, internal injury and bleeding, and potentially death.

Throwing more light on the perils of eating toothpicks, Dr Dilip Gude, senior consultant physician at Yashoda Hospitals Hyderabad told this outlet that green starch toothpicks are usually made of corn or sweet potato starch with "added sorbitol and green food colour".

"Deep fried toothpicks are banned by South Korea as they are known to be unsafe and are clearly non-edible. There may be acute effects like bloating, abdominal pain and flatulence from sorbitol, but there may be even worse long-term side effects. There may be increased trans fats from deep frying, along with the inherent dangers of the green food colour. It is important to curb the viral nature of this unhealthy habit and impart the knowledge about its inherent dangers to the general public," he said.