Viral TikTok avocado hack can make you ‘violently ill’

A viral TikTok hack showing how to keep avocados fresh for weeks can actually breed salmonella, new research has found.

Avoca-don’t try this at home.

A viral TikTok hack showing how to keep avocados fresh for weeks by using water and refrigeration can actually breed salmonella along with other harmful bacteria, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the New York Post reports.

The once easy (and now queasy) trick was demonstrated on TikTok by user @shamamamahealing, who displayed a two-week-old avocado that did not morph into its usual brownish-black goop.

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The FDA warns against a popular avocado hack. Picture: TikTok

Keeping avocados refrigerated in water can be harmful, according to the FDA. Picture: TikTok

The mum-of-four boasted that the “magic” method of storing the unopened fruit in a container of water could have it last “in the fridge for up to a month”.

But the FDA says don’t put these water-cool avocados in your guacamole.

“The FDA does not recommend this practice,” an agency spokesman told Newsweek.

“The main concern is with the possibility that any residual human pathogens (ie Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp etc) that may be residing on the avocado surface may potentially multiply during the storage when submerged in water.”

The agency has also done its own testing and the avocados come back in worse shape, despite keeping their hulkish green looks.

The agency has also done its own testing and the avocados come back in worse shape, despite their hulkish green looks. Picture: Pedro Pardo/AFP

“In addition, research performed by FDA scientists has shown that Listeria monocytogenes has the potential to infiltrate and internalise into the pulp of avocados when submerged in refrigerated dump tanks within 15 days during refrigerated storage,” they explained.

“In this case, even surface disinfecting the avocado skin prior to slicing would not be able to remove the contamination.”

Studying 1615 avocados, the FDA found Listeria monocytogenes – a bacteria notably harmful to pregnant women, seniors and those with weakened immune systems – in 17.73 per cent of the study sample, according to Newsweek.

Dunking them into water for long periods of time exacerbates the chances for the bacteria to multiply, the outlet added.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission