The TikTok Food Trend So Bizarre The FDA Had To Get Involved

Sometimes a TikTok hack is innocent and leads people to do things like make hot chocolate using bone broth or eat frozen popcorn – but this isn't always the case. Take the "NyQuil Chicken" trend: A viral internet meme that spiraled into a public health concern. In September of 2022, the Food and Drug Administration actually had to speak up about the potential danger of misusing medicine. NyQuil Chicken, which already sounds like a nightmare just by the name alone, involved content creators pouring over half of the bottle of medicine into a pan of raw chicken to "marinate" it.

In a since-removed FDA article called "A Recipe for Danger: Social Media Challenges Involving Medicine," the American health organization urged people to stop participating in the dangerous challenge. Ingesting too much cough medicine is very unsafe, but even inhaling the vapors from it could be harmful to the lungs and other parts of the body. It is unknown what the effects could do to a person, as it would vary and depend on how your body processes them. Taking too much acetaminophen can cause liver damage in some people, and the drowsiness factor could last longer than just one day, for example.

NyQuil Chicken isn't alone in the ever-growing pile of unsafe (or just plain inconsiderate) TikTok trends. They're especially a concern for children who have access to the platform, even if these videos often start as jokes. Like the many fast food "secret menu" TikTok hacks that terrorize food service workers everywhere, it's time for trends involving over-the-counter medications or any other non-food items to go away forever.

Back in 2018, the Tide Pod Challenge had kids eating packets of laundry detergent. And despite numerous warnings from the American Association of Poison Control Centers, the number of intentional exposures to detergent pods among 13- to 19-year-olds rose to 86 cases only three weeks into January. In more recent history, TikTok users have engaged in other risky food practices, such as drinking raw milk or creating a nightmare sous vide scenario by boiling hot dogs inside their original packaging. Let's leave these life-threatening challenges in the past.