South Korea health officials warn against eating deep fried starch toothpicks in viral trend

South Korean health officials are asking people not to deep fry and consume starch toothpicks.

Videos on social media show users deep-frying and seasoning the starch toothpicks in a pan before consuming them. When deep fried, the toothpicks puff up into crunchy looking chips.

“Starch toothpicks are not edible product...their safety as food has not been verified,“ the ministry said in a post on X.

“Please do not eat.”

Unlike toothpicks in Malaysia which are made out of wood, the green toothpicks in South Korea are biodegradable and dissolve in water.

According to Reuters, food colouring is used to make the green of the toothpicks, which are made out of sweet potato and corn starch.