The internet is fully stocked on food hacks.
Some are brilliant — like the easy way to fill a taco and a lazy way to avoid doing dishes. Some, however, are downright stupid — and potentially even dangerous to your health.
That's the case with a viral hack for keeping avocados fresh. With the potential to make you sick, the FDA had to step in and warn people.
Holy, guacamole!
So many amazing hacks have come from the 'Tok, TikTok, that is. Everyone from professional chefs to home cooks to regular folks has taken to the app to teach viewers new tricks.
This makes sense, considering that the word "straw" is literally in the name. You simply take a reuseable straw and insert it through the bottom of the strawberry. Push up and this removes the core and stem in one go.
Now you can be outside sipping a strawberry cocktail instead of hulling big batches of strawberries inside the old-fashioned way.
Another smart food hack lets you peel an orange without messing up your hands or nails.
Then, cut vertical lines all around the orange. When it's time to eat the orange, you simply peel the pre-cut skin away. It's simply the zest!
One that was pit-ifully bad (pardon the pun) is the TikTok hack that claims to stop avocados from turning into a mushy brown mess after just a few days.
In a viral video to her six million followers, she claimed to solve the oxidation issue by submerging whole avocados in water and storing them in the fridge. Her hack promises that the avocado will be fresh and green for up to a month.
The FDA has adamantly warned against it, writing in a statement, "The FDA does not recommend this practice." The main issue is that the food hack could be breeding the dangerous bacteria, salmonella.
This includes diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, and even death. It's not something you want to play around with, which is why the FDA felt the need to warn people.
"The main concern is with the possibility that any residual human pathogens (i.e. Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp, etc.) that may be residing on the avocado surface may potentially multiply during the storage when submerged in water," they wrote.
In 2018, FDA research found that out of 1,615 avocado samples, over 17 percent had a prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes. So when you place avocado inside water, it becomes the perfect place for bacteria to spread.
"Even if you plan to cut the rind or peel off the produce before eating, it is still important to wash it first so dirt and bacteria aren't transferred from the knife onto the fruit," the FDA wrote. This, however, doesn't mean dunking it in water for a month. Sorry, TikTokers!
