The Fruit Roll-Ups brand has entered the chat.
The TikTok account for the popular snack brand uploaded a video on Tuesday to debunk recent viral posts from users saying people can eat the snack without having to take off its plastic lining. Some users also suggested that there is actually no plastic on the product, and in videos document themselves eating the entire snack without appearing to remove anything.
In Fruit Roll-Ups' video, a woman is seen removing a Fruit Roll-Up from the freezer and unwrapping it. As she bites in, the plastic lining becomes visible as it separated slightly from the food.
“Nope,” she says. “Plastic.”
In the caption, Fruit Roll-Ups wrote: “legal is making me clarify that you should not attempt to eat plastic.”
A spokesperson for General Mills, the manufacturer of Fruit Roll-Ups, reiterated the brand's TikTok message in an email statement to NBC News.
"While consumers can enjoy Fruit Roll-Ups in many fun ways, including frozen, they should always remove the plastic wrap before freezing or consuming the product," the spokesperson said.
In recent weeks, Frozen Fruit Roll-Ups have been trending on the platform as a unique way to eat the snack. A few users have even added ice cream to the treat.
Some users have speculated that those who claim their Fruit Roll-Ups don't have the plastic lining are trolling their viewers. Others, like user @KitchenTool, who initially perpetuated the “no plastic” myth, admitted that they had intentionally misled their viewers into believing the product did not come with plastic.
In a video that was posted on March 8 and has been viewed 1.3 million times, @KitchenTool showed himself eating a Fruit Roll-Up right out of the package without removing any plastic.
In a follow-up video posted on Tuesday, @KitchenTool admitted he was manipulating the product to make it seem like it came without plastic.
"Alright, alright. Fine. There's of course plastic in every, single Fruit Roll-Up, guys. You think I'm just eating plastic around here?" he said. "No, of course I'm not. Of course I'm re-rolling the Fruit Roll-Up and then I'm reheating the back of the package to seal it again."
@KitchenTool did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, he added that he does hope Fruit Roll-Up will release a plastic-free freezer-ready version of the snack.
Fruit Roll-Up appeared grateful for the clarification from @KitchenTool.
"Sending this directly to my mgr so I can stop explaining that people are not in fact eating plastic," the Fruit Roll-Ups account commented on @KitchenTool's post.
