Korea imports increase 55% after 'starch toothpick fries' video goes viral

It has been revealed that the import volume of disposable toothpicks (made from starch) in the first quarter of this year has increased sharply compared to the same period last year.
It appears to have had some impact. According to the Korea Food and Drug Administration's Imported Food Information Report on the 9th, the import volume of disposable toothpicks (made from starch) in the first quarter of this year was 45 tons.
This is an increase of 16 tons from the 29 tons recorded in the same period last year. However, imports of disposable wooden toothpicks during the same period stood at 155 tons, not much different from the 159 tons recorded in the same period last year.
The reason for the large increase in imports of disposable toothpicks made of starch is that "fry mukbang (eating videos)" using starch toothpicks became popular earlier this year.
This is believed to have been influenced by the fact that, at the beginning of this year, content such as "starch toothpick fries" became popular on social media and YouTube.
According to the video, the light green starch toothpicks are deep fried and then stuffed with cheddar cheese sauce or prudish sauce.
It was demonstrated how to eat it by dipping the toothpick in soup or by putting the toothpick in boiling water to soften it and eating it like ramen.
However, the Food and Drug Safety Agency said about this outbreak,
According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, toothpicks are sanitary products like cups, spoons, straws, etc., and their ingredients and manufacturing methods are unknown.
The safety of these products is controlled by standards and regulations, such as the law and temperature of use. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety requests that sanitary products such as toothpicks be used in a way that suits their intended purpose.