Why the viral “Fluffy Popcorn” trend could be dangerous

As the spooky season begins, a new Halloween TikTok trend is capturing attention and appetite across the app — although experts advise caution.

Dubbed “fluffy popcorn,” this trend involves melting butter and marshmallows and then adding popcorn, sprinkles, and raw cake mix to create a sweet, gooey treat.

Katelyn Coon, 22, known on TikTok as @katelynnnjeaneee, has racked up 4.8 million views and 520,600 likes with her version of the mix. In her video, she captions the process: “Let’s make fluffy Halloween popcorn.”

She melts a stick of butter, stirs in marshmallows, then adds half a bag of cake mix before adding popcorn to the sugary mixture.

While many TikTok viewers are intrigued by the sticky, colorful result, others have expressed concerns about eating raw cake batter due to potential food safety risks. “Is it OK to eat raw cake mix? I’m not sure if the flour is in it. But this looks so good,” asked one viewer.

Dr. Rolando Gonzalez, chief scientific officer of Acheson Group (TAG), a global food safety consulting firm, weighed in on the issue Newsweek that eating raw flour could actually be harmful.

“Eating raw flour can make you sick. Bacteria such as salmonella and E. coli cause food poisoning and can contaminate the grains that are directly used to make flour,” he explained. “While flour doesn’t look like raw food, the flour you buy in the store is raw.”

He continued: “The grains can be exposed to harmful bacteria in the field or during flour production. These germs are not killed during flour processing, but only by baking or cooking the flour. Raw flour and products containing flour have led to several outbreaks of food poisoning in the United States, with symptoms ranging from mild to severe.

Coon, a marketer from Nebraska, said she was unaware of the potential health effects when she shared the recipe.

She told Newsweek: “I got the exact recipe from someone else when it went viral in the spring.”

“I thought it would be fun to make a Halloween version by simply adding Halloween sprinkles, and I wasn’t aware of the risks involved with cake mix.”

“For the record, I didn’t get sick at all – not to say you can’t – and I liked the cake batter flavor the cake mix added. I think adding either cake batter extract or pudding mix could be a good substitute.”

Salmonella and E. coli are two of the most common bacteria associated with foodborne illnesses, and both can be found in raw flour.

When these bacteria contaminate food, they can cause a range of unpleasant and sometimes serious symptoms.

According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of salmonella infection usually appear within six hours to six days after eating contaminated food.

Common symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever and headache. While most people recover without medical treatment, severe cases may require hospitalization. Salmonella poisoning can be particularly dangerous for vulnerable groups such as young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.

Likewise, an E. coli infection can occur after consuming raw flour contaminated with the bacteria. Symptoms typically begin three to four days after exposure and can cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting.

In some cases, E. coli can lead to more serious complications such as kidney failure. While many people recover within a week, people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of serious health problems.

Despite the concerns, Jeane addressed this in the comments and suggested an alternative. Halloween lovers can skip the raw cake mix altogether. She assured her followers, “It still tastes great.”

The recipe brought back nostalgic memories for some. “Oh my god, looks great,” one commenter gushed, while another recalled: “I remember making this when I was 8 and the marshmallow mixture ended up all over the stove and my parents didn’t let me let it be finished.”