By John Salak –
The things people put in their mouths—it’s a wonderment. This includes, among others, piles of hot peppers, worms, goldfish, bats, blood sausages and haggis. Now, thanks to some TikTok influencers, the largely unhinged are munching down on biodegradable packing peanuts assuming they are edible. Warning: don’t eat packing peanuts—while some may dissolve in water and appear harmless, they are not meant for consumption and could pose health risks.
The packing peanut snack trend appears to have started after the brand Lush claimed it was serving up edible packing peanuts on the assumption their peanuts were not made from foam but a vegetable starch-based alternative.
These new peanuts admittedly may be better for the environment, but they are unlikely to do a person any good. This hasn’t stopped TikTok influencers from promoting the notion that these peanuts make a great “bedtime snack.” These TikTokers claim the foam pieces are completely edible because they dissolve in their mouths.
The reason Lush and other companies now pack with “eco-flo chips” instead of traditional foam peanuts is because their vegetable-starch base allows them to dissolve in water and soil. This eco-friendly achievement is great for the climate but not for tummies.
Thankfully, some online viewers have now begun to question the concept, noting in one case: “Biodegradable doesn’t mean edible.” Another warned: “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should!”
Health experts go further by warning these new packing peanuts have the potential to cause all sorts of harm. The least of these concerns is that munching these materials could result in bloating, pain and gas. These consequences aren’t so bad in comparison to the worst outcome—a potential link to cancer.
“Many vegetable oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids, which, when consumed excessively, contribute to an imbalance that promotes chronic inflammation,” Angelica McGough, DNP, MSN told Delish. “Inhaling cooking fumes and consuming heated oils has been linked to lung, breast, colorectal and prostate cancer.”
The process of processing in biodegradable packing peanuts also involves heating their ingredients like cornstarch, potato starch, vegetable oil and wheat starch to such high levels that the carcinogen acrylamide is produced.
Sadly, these warnings haven’t deterred some TikTokers from continuing to promote these peanuts as edible, even going as far as to suggest that consumers season them or use sauces to make them ever tastier.
These suggestions alone, some would argue, are yet another argument for taking down TikTok.
