It’s safe to say that Danish food is not known for its spices. Think open-faced sandwiches, pastries, and of course, meatballs.
It will therefore not come as too much surprise that the Danish food safety agency on Tuesday ordered the recall of three types of Buldak Spicy Noodles, manufactured by Samyang Food.
Korea’s historic instant ramen maker has seen a number of its lines go viral in recent months, with its bright pink pack of carbonara ramen being flaunted by celebrities like rapper Cardi B.
And that also applies to Danish teenagers. During an online challenge, young people ate ‘strong bowls of noodle soup’, specifically three spicy noodles.
The Danish Veterinary and Food Authority has ordered a recall of Buldak Samyang 3x Spicy & Hot Chicken, Buldak Samyang 2x Spicy & Hot Chicken and Buldak Samyang Hot Chicken Stew.
The agency said the levels of capsaicin – chili pepper extract – in the instant ramen products are “so high as to pose a risk that the consumer will develop acute poisoning.”
‘Chile in large quantities poses a risk, especially to children and vulnerable adults. Symptoms may include burning and discomfort, nausea, vomiting and high blood pressure,” said Henrik Dammand Nielsen, head of the agency’s Chemistry and Food Quality Division.
‘That is why we now demand that stores remove the products from the shelves.’
Food safety officials did not mention whether Danish authorities had any reports of injuries related to consuming the noodles made by Samyang Foods.
The agency had a laboratory evaluate the three noodle products and determined they were harmful.
Capsaicin is commonly found in topical medications and personal protective equipment such as pepper spray and mace.
Danish consumers must return the noodle packages or throw them in the waste bin. Parents and guardians were advised to call the country’s poison hotline if their child shows signs of acute poisoning.
Samyang’s ‘fire noodle’ line is hot to say the least, ranking near the top 10 of many a spicy ramen list.
According to the Scoville scale, which measures the degree of spiciness, the original package amounts to 8,706 Scoville units – a jalapeño is about half of that.
Buldak Samyang 2x Spicy & Hot Chicken has a Scoville rating of 10,000, while Buldak Samyang 3x Spicy & Hot Chicken has a sizzling rating of 13,000, according to The Ramen Rater.
Samyang Foods told The Korea Times that the company was initially unaware of the product recall in Denmark.
Hours later, a spokesperson said: ‘It appears that the Danish food authorities initiated the recall due to concerns that the excessive spiciness could cause problems, and not because of quality issues with the product.
“We intend to closely examine the Danish regulations and respond to the recall accordingly.”
The company is hugely popular in the West, with profits reaching a record high of over £86,000,000 in 2023. Shares have surged 70% in recent months after Buldak carbonara ramen went viral on TikTok.
So viral, in fact, that noodle lover Cardi B said she drove — well, her driver — about 30 minutes to find a package of the mostly sold-out products.
However, both Danes and Koreans are not entirely convinced that remembering the famous ramen brand shows good taste.
Min Ju Yun, a resident of Seoul, told the Associated Press: “If there was a health problem, it should already have been a problem here in South Korea.”
Rubin Truong, owner of a Chinese supermarket in Coppenhagan, called the recall “ridiculous.”
“If ramen is being recalled, why aren’t Tabasco and fresh Jalapeño being recalled?” he said.
“Europeans can’t handle spices,” an X user added. “Story at 11.”
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