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A Danish food regulator recalled a brand of instant noodles, declaring the chewy, umami-filled strings posed a health hazard, despite not having quality control issues. They were too spicy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration (DVFA) made the decision to recall three varieties of the popular Buldak instant noodle brand because they were deemed too heavy on the chili.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The noodles \u201care being recalled as the levels of total capsaicin in the products pose a risk of acute poisoning,\u201d the Danish agency said in a statement on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Capsaicin is the naturally occurring ingredient that makes chili peppers spicy, and the culprit behind the burning sensation diners either love or hate in a meal.<\/p>\n
Buldak noodles are made by Samyang Foods, a South Korean company that in 2023 had $2.3 billion in revenue. The word Buldak means \u201cfire chicken\u201d in Korean, an obvious indication of what awaits within the colorful packaging. The three varieties of noodles that were subject to the recall are Buldak Samyang 3x Spicy & Hot Chicken, Buldak Samyang 2x Spicy & Hot Chicken, and Buldak Samyang Hot Chicken Stew.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The noodle recall was unprecedented for Samyang, according to the company. \u201cThis is the first time they\u2019ve been subject to a recall for this reason,\u201d a Samyang spokesperson told<\/a> CNN. It\u2019s \u201cbecause it is so spicy that it could cause problems.\u201d<\/p>\n The high levels of spice in Buldak\u2019s noodles were a risk especially for \u201cchildren and weak or elderly people if they consume the total capsaicin content in the packages,\u201d a DVFA spokesperson told Fortune<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n For the most part spicy foods<\/a> containing capsaicin are not dangerous.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, extremely high levels of capsaicin can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea and a burning sensation when ingested, according<\/a> to the National Capital Poison Center, a non-profit hotline for poisonings.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some studies have found that regular consumption of spicy foods has health benefits. A 2015 study<\/a> from China found that people who ate spicy food six to seven times a week showed a \u200b\u200b14% \u201crelative risk reduction in total mortality\u201d compared to people who ate spicy food just once a week. There is also some research that spicy foods can help with weight loss because they reduce appetite and cause the body to expend more energy, thus burning calories. A meta-study analyzing some 90 clinical trials found that eating spicy foods often \u201cwould produce clinically significant levels of weight loss in 1-2 years,\u201d according<\/a> to a 2012 academic paper.\u00a0<\/p>\n Buldak noodles were the brainchild of Kim Jung-soo, now Samyang Foods\u2019 CEO. Kim had an unlikely rise to the corner office, marrying into the family that owned Samyang Foods, according to an interview<\/a> in the Wall Street Journal<\/em>. She was a housewife until the company hit hard times and her father-in-law, Samyang\u2019s then-chairman, urged her to join the business, which she eventually did as its head of sales despite having no corporate experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere was only desperation,\u201d Kim said of her early days at Samyang.\u00a0<\/p>\n Eventually she would help turn around the company\u2019s fate when a lunch with her daughter at a rice shop that served extra-spicy stir fry sparked the idea for Buldak. Immediately following the lunch Kim went to a grocery store and bought three of every hot sauce and chili powder. Two sets went to Samyang\u2019s product development and marketing teams respectively. And the last one went back home with her for her own hands-on testing, according to the Journal<\/em>. After months of research that required 1,200 chickens, two tons of hot sauce, and chili peppers from around the world, the Buldak recipe was perfected.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In the U.S., Buldak\u2019s spiciest noodles gained popularity in recent years after they sparked a social media trend. Buldak\u2019s hot ramen spawned YouTube<\/a> videos with hyperbolic titles like \u201cSpicy Nuclear Fire Noodle Challenge\u201d and \u201cEXTREME SPICY RAMEN CHALLENGE!!! (DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME).\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Buldak hadn\u2019t paid influencers to try the product but still welcomed the attention. \u201cCreators expressed themselves in an organic and truthful way,\u201d Kim told the Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\n The brand then gained even more popularity when it released a carbonara<\/a> flavor\u2014a reference to the popular Roman pasta dish<\/a> that features egg, pork cheek, and pecorino and parmesan cheese. That Italian-inspired variety launched its own wave of social media reaction videos\u2014including from A-listers like Cardi B\u2014and sold out<\/a> across the country. (Cardi B\u2019s social media video caused Samyang\u2019s stock to shoot up<\/a> more than 30%.)\u00a0<\/p>\n The DVFA cited the rise of these social media challenges<\/a> in the country as one of the reasons for its own decision to ban Buldak\u2019s spiciest products. This isn\u2019t the first time this year a spicy food was subject to a recall because of a social media challenge. In the U.S. a teen died<\/a> after a social media challenge that encouraged<\/a> people to eat a single, extra spicy tortilla chip. The manufacturer Paqui, then asked retailers to stop selling<\/a> the product.\u00a0<\/p>\n Spice-averse Danes who still want to try the product might take a page from Kim who herself found Buldak noodles too hot. \u201cBut after eating them for a long time, it\u2019s become more and more delicious and familiar,\u201d she told the Wall Street Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nAre spicy foods dangerous for your health?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n
A noodle brand founded by a former-housewife turned CEO<\/strong><\/h3>\n