As spooky season gets underway, a new Halloween TikTok trend is capturing attention and appetites across the app—though experts are urging caution.
Dubbed “fluffy popcorn,” this trend involves melting butter and marshmallows, then mixing in popcorn, sprinkles, and raw cake mix for a sweet, gooey treat.
Katelyn Coon, 22, known as @katelynnnjeaneee on TikTok, has racked up 4.8 million views and 520,600 likes with her version of the concoction. In her video, she captions the process with: “Let’s make Halloween fluffy popcorn.”
She melts a stick of butter, stirring in marshmallows, then she adds half a bag of cake-mix before adding popcorn to the sugary blend.
While many TikTok viewers are entranced by the sticky, colorful result, others have expressed concern about eating raw cake mix due to potential food safety risks. “Is it OK to eat raw cake mix?? Not sure about that with the flour in it. But this looks so good,” one viewer questioned.
Dr. Rolando Gonzalez, chief scientific officer for The Acheson Group (TAG), a global food safety consultancy, weighed in on the topic, telling Newsweek that consuming raw flour could indeed be harmful.
“Consuming raw flour can make you sick. Bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli cause food poisoning and can contaminate the grains from which flour is directly made,” he explained. “While flour may not look like a raw food, the flour you buy at the store is raw.”
He further elaborated that, “The grains can be exposed to harmful bacteria in the field or when the flour is being made. Those germs are not killed when flour is processed, but only by baking or cooking the flour. Raw flour and products that contain flour have caused several outbreaks of food poisoning in the United States, with symptoms varying from mild to serious.”
Coon, a marketing specialist from Nebraska, explained she was not aware of the possible health implications when she shared the recipe.
She told Newsweek: “I got the exact recipe from someone else when it went viral back in the spring.
“I thought it would be fun to make a Halloween version, just adding halloween sprinkles, and I was not aware of the risks that cake mix has.
“For the record I did not get sick at all—not to say that you can’t—and I loved the cake batter flavor the cake mix added. I think adding either cake batter extract or pudding mix could be a good substitute.”
Salmonella and E. coli are two of the most common bacteria associated with foodborne illnesses, and both can be present in raw flour.
When these bacteria contaminate food, they can cause a range of uncomfortable and sometimes serious symptoms.
According to the Mayo Clinic, salmonella infection symptoms usually appear within six hours to six days after consuming contaminated food.
Common symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever, and headache. While most people recover without medical treatment, severe cases may require hospitalization. Salmonella poisoning can be particularly dangerous for vulnerable groups, such as young children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems.
Similarly, E. coli infection can occur after ingesting raw flour that has been contaminated with the bacteria. Symptoms typically start three to four days after exposure and may cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting.
In some cases, E. coli can lead to more severe complications, such as kidney failure. While many people recover within a week, those with compromised immune systems are at greater risk of serious health issues.
Despite the concerns, Jeane addressed these in the comments, suggesting an alternative. Halloween lovers can leave out the raw cake mix entirely. She assured followers “it still tastes great.”
The recipe has brought back nostalgic memories for some. “Omg looks amazing,” one commenter enthused, while another reminisced: “I remember I did this when I was 8 and got the marshmallow mixture all over the stove and my parents didn’t let me finish making it.”
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