South Korea's Health Ministry Warns Against Trend of Eating Fried Toothpicks

South Korea's food ministry has issued a health warning against the viral social media trend of consuming deep-fried starch toothpicks shaped like curly fries, cautioning that their safety as food has not been verified and urging people not to eat them. The toothpicks, often used in restaurants in South Korea and made from sweet potato or corn starch, have been featured in video clips on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where they are shown being fried in oil and eaten with seasoning. The ministry emphasized that the toothpicks are a sanitary product and should not be consumed, despite their environmentally friendly and biodegradable nature.