These Tide Pod-inspired foods have all the fun, none of the hazards

ByDanny Clemens KABC logo
Thursday, January 18, 2018
These Tide Pod-inspired foods have all the fun, none of the toxicity
Don't eat detergent. Try these Tide Pod-inspired foods instead.

As Tide begs people to stop putting its detergent in their mouth, some restaurateurs have come up with a better alternative: Tide Pod-inspired food.

Around the country, eateries have introduced limited-edition products inspired by the pods that have swept across the internet as people mind-bogglingly choose to bite into them for social media clout.

Vinnie's Pizzeria in Brooklyn is offering up PIEd Pods stuffed with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. The pods are topped with melted cheese dyed in the same pattern as the Tide Pods.

"Our Pied Pods have the bright, alluring colors that youths crave BUT are 100 percent edible and 100 percent not poison," the pizzeria wrote on Instagram.

Vinnie's co-owner Sean Berthiaume originally made the pods as a joke for social media, but the reaction was bigger than he anticipated.

"It blew up, and we're getting tons of calls about them and so we make them for whoever wants them. I don't foresee it becoming a permanent thing but as long as people want me to make it for them, I will," Berthiaume told ABC via email.

In Missouri, Hurts Donut Company is serving up donuts iced white, orange and blue just like the detergent pods.

"I thought this would clear up any confusion there might have been, but now adults are throwing donuts in the washer," CEO Tim Clegg quipped on the company's Facebook pages.

In the weeks since the so-called Tide Pod Challenge began to spread across the internet, multiple social networks have since begun to remove videos of the stunt, which encourages users to film themselves biting into the detergent pods.

Citing the health concerns associated with ingesting concentrated laundry detergent, Tide launched a social media campaign discouraging customers from using the product for anything other than laundry.

The corrosive ingredients in the pods can cause burns, blood pressure changes, gastrointestinal problems and neurological issues when ingested, Dr. Sarang Koushik, MD told ABC News.