Urgent warning over viral Tanghulu trend after multiple children hospitalised

Doctors at a leading children’s hospital have issued an urgent warning to parents after multiple children were hospitalised from trying out a viral food trend, having made one very dangerous mistake.

According to a press release from Shriners Children’s – a network of children's hospitals across North America - doctors are now ‘working to warn parents’ about a ‘potentially dangerous’ new trend involving candied fruit, as it continues to gain interest from younger social media users.

The Chinese dessert, known as Tanghulu, is made by dipping a skewer of fruit into a coating of melted sugar, in turn creating a sweet, glossy and crunchy coating.

But while the snack sounds straightforward enough, there are unexpected risks involved that many people might not be aware of.

The snack comes with risks some people might not be aware of. (Eakkarach Jmt/Getty Images)

Surgeon Dr. Colleen Ryan, from Shriners Children’s in Boston, said earlier this month that staff had seen a correlated increase in children coming in with severe burn injuries as a result of spilling hot sugar.

Ryan said, in two weeks alone, she saw two patients hospitalised as a result of the trend, but that word of mouth among her colleagues - both across the country and internationally – suggest similar patterns of ‘very deep scald burns’ after the rise of the dish online.

She believes it’s often down to the method behind homemade Tanghulu, as many children have been resorting to melting the sugar in the microwave.

“When sugar is melted in the microwave like this, it has a high heat capacity, meaning it stores the heat energy,” said Ryan explained.

“If spilled, it can create a severe scald burn, much like spilling hot soup, but it can cause a much deeper burn because of sugar’s properties.

“Kids or teens can quickly grab the pot or bowl and the hot fluid splashes, spills or splatters over them.

“The result is one or several small but very deep burns, often in critical areas such as the hand or the face.”

Doctors said they've seen an increase in hospital admissions for burns from the trend. (Plan Shooting 2/Imazins/Getty Images)

Ryan said the main goal of physicians is to make sure parents are aware of the trend, and to ensure children have the appropriate support and supervision if attempting to create the dish themselves.

“It can seem like a fun, harmless activity for kids to try making the treat themselves,” she added.

“There is an opportunity to prevent this injury if everyone is aware of this danger.

“Parents should be careful and make sure their children have learned proper cooking safety and take preventive measures.

“Many burn injuries we see at Shriners Children’s Boston are scalding injuries that come from preparing hot food or liquids, so our goal is to educate parents and kids about the potential dangers.”

If your child receives a scald burn:

• Remove the child from the hot liquid immediately
• Remove any clothing at site of injury
• Cool the injury with cool tap water
• Do not put ice on a burn

You should also seek emergency medical attention if necessary.