What are fluffy popcorn on TikTok and why are health professionals against it?

Fluffy popcorn is the latest food trend to take over TikTok, as it sees people mix popcorn with sweet marshmallows to make the ultimate treat. However several health professionals are warning against adding one specific ingredient.

The fluffy popcorn trend has taken TikTok by storm recently, with several users having gotten millions of views when they’ve shown themselves making the sweet treat at home.

However, health professionals have now come out to warn against the trend, as one of the ingredients is considered “dangerous” to consume when not prepared right.

What are fluffy popcorn?

The snack has gone viral on TikTok, with thousands of people trying out the sweet and salty snack. While there aren’t any precise recipes out there, the ingredients are simply popcorn, butter, marshmallows, sprinkles, and, in some cases, flour. 

You simply melt a stick of butter together with the marshmallows before mixing in the popcorn. Then simply add to a bowl and sprinkle some sprinkles on top.

What makes the popcorn considered “fluffy” is the combination of raw flour and marshmallows, as some users add a bit of flour to the butter and marshmallow mix before adding the popcorn. This turns the snack into an almost Rice Krispie-like snack.

While the trend isn’t new to TikTok, it has recently become popular again as folks are using Halloween-themed sprinkles and audio when making their snack videos.

Microbiologist warns against fluffy popcorn trend

Despite the food trend appearing to be harmless (ignoring the sugar count of course), health experts have come out to warn against the sweet treat due to one “dangerous” ingredient.

Microbiologist @bloodflower went into lengthy detail in a TikTok video warning people about the trend. 

She said: “Hey, if you value your kidneys, your liver, your colon, you don’t 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 went on to say that, while we often don’t think of raw flour as being a raw food, confirmed by the FDA, or a high risk food, it’s actually both of those things, making it dangerous to eat.

“Because flour is indeed raw, it does not undergo any sort of pathogen reduction step, meaning it harbors all kinds of nasty bacteria, namely E. coli and salmonella,” she explained.

“And I know, I know, ‘I’ve never gotten sick and no one I know has ever gotten sick so it can’t be that big of a deal.’ Unfortunately, things do continue to exist even if we don’t experience them.”

This is not the only viral TikTok food that health professionals have warned against, as warnings have also been shared about the Balcan breakfast trend.