A Danish food regulator has recalled a brand of instant noodles, saying the chewy umami-filled strings posed a health risk even though they did not have quality control issues. They were too spicy.
The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration (DVFA) has taken the decision to recall three varieties of the popular instant noodle brand Buldak because they were found to be too high in chili pepper.
The noodles “are being recalled because the levels of total capsaicin present in the products pose a risk of acute poisoning,” the Danish agency said in a statement on Tuesday.
Capsaicin is the natural ingredient that makes chili peppers spicy and the culprit behind the burning sensation that diners love or hate during a meal.
Buldak noodles are made by Samyang Foods, a South Korean company with revenue of $2.3 billion in 2023. The word Buldak means “fire chicken” in Korean, an obvious indication of what awaits you in the colorful packaging. The three noodle varieties subject to recall are Buldak Samyang 3x Spicy & Hot Chicken, Buldak Samyang 2x Spicy & Hot Chicken and Buldak Samyang Hot Chicken Stew.
The noodle recall was unprecedented for Samyang, according to the company. “This is the first time they have been recalled for this reason,” a Samyang spokesperson said. said CNN. This is “because it’s so spicy that it could cause problems.”
The high levels of spices in Buldak noodles pose a risk particularly to “children and the weak or elderly if they consume all the capsaicin in the packages”, a DVFA spokesperson said. Fortune.
Are spicy foods dangerous for your health?
For the majority spicy foods containing capsaicin are not dangerous.
However, extremely high levels of capsaicin can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and a burning sensation if ingested. according to at the National Capital Poison Center, a nonprofit poisoning hotline.
Some studies have shown that regular consumption of spicy foods has health benefits. A 2015 study from China found that people who ate spicy foods six to seven times a week had a 14% “relative risk reduction in total mortality” compared to people who ate spicy foods just once a week. Some research also shows that spicy foods can help with weight loss because they reduce appetite and cause the body to expend more energy, thereby burning calories. A meta-study analyzing some 90 clinical trials found that eating spicy foods often “would produce clinically significant levels of weight loss within 1 to 2 years.” according to to a 2012 academic article.
A noodle brand founded by a former housewife turned CEO
Buldak noodles are the brainchild of Kim Jung-soo, now CEO of Samyang Foods. Kim had an unlikely rise to the corner office, marrying a member of the family that owns Samyang Foods, according to a interview in the Wall Street Journal. She was a housewife until the company fell on hard times and her father-in-law, then president of Samyang, urged her to join the company, which she eventually did as sales manager despite his lack of business experience.
“There was nothing but despair,” Kim said of his early days at Samyang.
Ultimately, she helped turn the company’s fortunes around when a lunch with her daughter at a rice shop that served very spicy stir-fries sparked the idea for Buldak. Immediately after lunch, Kim went to a grocery store and bought three of each hot sauce and chili powder. Two batches were respectively intended for Samyang’s product development and marketing teams. And the last one went home with her for her own practical tests, according to the Newspaper. 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.
In the United States, Buldak’s spiciest noodles have gained popularity in recent years after starting a trend on social media. Buldak’s hot ramen appeared Youtube videos with hyperbolic titles like “Spicy Nuclear Fire Noodle Challenge” and “EXTREME SPICY RAMEN CHALLENGE!!! (DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME).”
Buldak hadn’t paid any influencers to try the product, but he still appreciated the attention. “The creators expressed themselves organically and truthfully,” Kim told Newspaper.
The brand then gained even more popularity by launching a carbonara flavor – a reference to the popular Roman novel pasta dish which contains egg, pork cheek and pecorino and parmesan. This Italian-inspired variety has launched its own wave of reaction videos on social media, including from stars like Cardi B, and exhausted Across the country. (Cardi B’s social media video sent Samyang shares soaring to pull more than 30%).
The DVFA cited the rise of these social media challenges in the country as one of the reasons for its own decision to ban Buldak’s spicier products. This isn’t the first time this year that a spicy food has been recalled due to a social media challenge. In the USA a teenager died after a challenge on social networks which encouraged people to eat a single very spicy tortilla chip. The manufacturer Paqui then asked retailers to stop selling the product.
Danes who are opposed to spices and still want to try the product could take inspiration from Kim who herself found Buldak noodles too spicy. “But after eating them for a long time, it became more and more delicious and familiar,” she told the newspaper. Wall Street Journal.
