Recently on your TikTok For You Page, you may have noticed a surge in cucumber recipe videos every time you scroll. The trend has escalated from a shortage of cucumbers which is causing suppliers to struggle amidst a salmonella outbreak.
The cucumber trend was first started by the food content creator, Logan Moffit (@logagm). He recently reached 6.6 million followers and often posts Asian-inspired recipes. In each post, he includes his iconic phrases, “Sometimes you need to eat an entire cucumber” and “MSG obviously.” Impressively, more than 367,000 videos have been posted under the viral hashtag, #CucumberSalad. It’s been a trend since August and continues to gain momentum into October.
In Moffit’s basic cucumber salad, he adds his favorite ingredients: soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili oil for that extra crunch, and of course, MSG. He mixes all his ingredients in his container then voilà: a cucumber salad is made!
However, the cucumber craze has caused many hazardous issues. Another content creator, Jackson Dean (@jacksondean), jumped onto the trend with his girlfriend, Paige Taylor (@paigetaylor.s). They were having fun chopping the cucumbers on the mandolin when suddenly, Dean’s finger got too close and the edge of his finger sliced off. As Inside Edition reports, Jackson rushed to the emergency room. He blamed himself for the mishap and warned other cucumber fanatics to be careful during the process.
More concerningly, the cucumber trend has started a salmonella outbreak. According to the CDC, they announced a recall on cucumbers in over 31 countries. The outbreak has already caused 155 people to be hospitalized as of September 23rd, 2024. It was caused by untreated canal water used by a grower in Florida. But, because of the viral trend, its impact was much more widespread than it should have been due to the amount of cucumbers bought.
Moffit’s cucumber trend reminds us of how microtrends can go completely out of control. As Jackson continued, “I didn’t know how dangerous it was, and I didn’t realize how fast it was cutting.” Cucumbers are considered to be harmless, but following microtrends mindlessly isn’t.
