Burger King Halloween Whopper Turning Skin Black-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
A limited edition Halloween Whopper introduced by Burger King is turning customers’ skin black.
The Truth:
Burger King’s Halloween Whopper hasn’t turned customers’ skin black, but it has gained attention for reportedly turning something else green.
First, the false report that the Halloween Whopper has turned customer’s skin black was started by the fake news website Huzlers. The (fake) story reported that Burger King’s Halloween Whopper, which features a black bun, had turned customers “from Caucasian to Black”:
The FDA decided to open an urgen investigation on the Halloween Whopper and made a shocking discovery. The FDA discovered that the Whopper is not dyed black with ordinary food coloring as Burger King announced, but rather dyed with extremely high amounts of black ink, enough to turn your skin black within a few days. Experts say ordinary food coloring could not turn the bread black as Burger King wanted, so they proceeded to use black ink. “It’s like getting a huge tattoo,” says Dr. Esteban Greizman.
Within days, the story had been shared more than 13,000 times on social media sites. Taken out of context, many users were duped into believing that the story was at least partially true. Huzlers, however, isn’t a trustworthy news source, according to its Terms and Conditions page.
The Halloween Whopper has (reportedly) had a different expected side effect, however: green poop. Many customers have taken to social media to report the black bun’s unusual side effect using #greenpoop.
Burger King launched the Halloween Whopper in Japan in 2014 with great success, but the burger chain explained to ABC News that it had used a different method to dye the buns black in the U.S.:
The burger was first introduced in Japan last year. The black bun offered in Japan reportedly got its black hue from bamboo charcoal.
The American version will not feature bamboo charcoal. The dark color in the U.S. sandwich comes from the “smoky black pepper flavor of A.1. baked into the bun,” a Burger King spokesman told ABC News, adding that the bun also contains less than one percent of food dye.
The “Halloween Whopper” clocks in at 710 calories and 43 grams of fat, according to Burger King’s nutritional info. This special edition burger is actually healthier than the regular Whopper with cheese (730 calories and 44 grams of fat).
The company hasn’t commented on reports of the Halloween Whopper’s side effect, but some have commented that green food coloring is often used to dye foods black.