A Beloved Snack Is Trending on TikTok — But Some Are Claiming to Eat It in an Extremely Dangerous Way The viral trend of adding ice cream is fine, but some users are taking it too far.
By Amanda Breen
Fruit Roll-Ups, the sweet treat that debuted in U.S. grocery stores in 1983, has gotten quite the 21st-century update on TikTok.
Viral videos feature users eating the snack frozen; in some cases, people even fill them with ice cream. There's no problem there (though the frozen sheets appear tough to chew at times) — but some are claiming they're eating the Fruit Roll-Ups without removing the plastic, NBC News reported.
TikTok user @KitchenTool posted a video where he appears to take the Fruit Roll-Up out of the freezer, unwrap and eat it — plastic wrapper apparently included. It went viral with 1.3 million views — but he later admitted he misled viewers on purpose.
Related: How to Use TikTok to Promote Your Business | Entrepreneur
Although ingesting a small amount of plastic on accident isn't necessarily cause for concern, consuming food packaged in plastic on a regular basis has been linked to health issues like metabolic disorders and reduced fertility, per Harvard Health.
So no, you definitely should not devour that Fruit-Roll Up plastic wrapper and all.
Naturally, Fruit Roll-Ups is trying to set the record straight. In a stitched response to a different user's frozen Fruit Roll-Up video, the company shared its own TikTok to debunk the myth with the caption "legal is making me clarify that you should not attempt to eat plastic."
@fruitrollups #stitch with @hollyberry09 legal is making me clarify that you should not attempt to eat plastic #fruitrollup ♬ original sound - Fruit Roll-Ups
A spokesperson for General Mills, the manufacturer of Fruit Roll-Ups, reaffirmed that message in an email statement to NBC News.
"While consumers can enjoy Fruit Roll-Ups in many fun ways, including frozen, they should always remove the plastic wrap before freezing or consuming the product," the spokesperson said.
Related: How to Integrate TikTok Into Your Video Marketing Strategy
