New York City

NYC Pizzeria Lampoons ‘Tide Pod Challenge' With Cheesy Rolls

"We’re concerned about the youths. They’re eating laundry detergent pods."

What to Know

  • The "Tide pod challenge" has been sweeping the nation, with teens eating dangerous laundry detergent pods
  • Vinnie's Pizzeria in Williamsburg has come up with a humorous way to get kids to stop eating detergent
  • The pizzeria's "Pied Pods" have the colorful appeal of Tide pods and all the savoriness of pizza

A Brooklyn pizzeria is trying to stem the tide of the dangerous “Tide pod challenge” by offering a cheesy, tongue-in-cheek alternative.

In case you haven’t heard, teens have been eating Tide laundry detergent pods as part of a new viral video challenge that’s been sweeping the nation and gaining widespread attention in recent weeks. Ten people have died from eating the pods, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Enter Vinnie’s Pizzeria in Williamsburg. They’ve gotten in on the craze (and poked fun at the absurdity of eating laundry detergent) by offering cheese rolls with all the Tide flare and none of the poisonous chemicals.

The pizzeria posted a photo to Instagram on Thursday introducing its new “Pied Pods.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeHPhwCnfKV/

“We’re concerned about the youths. They’re eating laundry detergent pods,” the post reads. “We needed to do something. Our Pied Pods have that bright, alluring colors that youths crave BUT are 100% edible and 100% not poison. Plus they’re delicious.”

The Pied Pods are stuffed with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni, baked and then topped with melted, dyed cheese that’s the bright orange and blue hue of Tide pods.

“We’re hoping the Pied Pods will be a gateway food for kids to get back into actual food. Hope, not Soap! Only at Vinnie’s Pizzeria!”

Vinnie’s isn’t the only one hoping to stop kids from eating Tide pods. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission launched a social media campaign warning of the dangers. “Human people united against eating laundry pods,” a Facebook post from the commission reads.

“It started out as a joke and a prank on the Internet, and it's gone too far,” CPSC Chairman Ann Marie Buerkle told TODAY this month. “The teenagers who are doing this need to understand that this is reckless.”

Proctor and Gamble, the company that owns Tide, also launched an online video campaign to warn teens. “What should Tide PODs be used for? DOING LAUNDRY. Nothing else,” one Twitter post reads.

But if we had to choose, Vinnie’s approach seems the most delectable, and it sure beats the vomiting and loss of consciousness Tide pods can induce. 

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