Woman warns of tanghulu TikTok challenge as daughter left with burn blisters from 'prison napalm'

A TikTok challenge has left a child nearly scarred for life after she attempted to recreate a ‘tanghulu’, a popular Chinese candied fruit in the microwave. Emma-Kouise Owen is warning other parents about the dangers of the challenge after her 12-year-old Sophie-Rosie was left with burn blisters as the sugar syrup she made turned into ‘prison napalm’.

The challenge involves heating up sugar and water to make a sugar syrup, which is then glazed over fruit skewers before dipping in cold water to create a hard, crunchy surface. Emma said her daughter asked her whether she could do the tanghulu challenge last month (April 19) after spotting the trend on TikTok.

The 34-year-old agreed as she had seen the trend on other social media platforms too herself and warned Sophie to be careful but soon heard a piercing scream come from the kitchen.

Emma, who lives in Cardiff, Wales, said her daughter had heated the syrup using a plastic jug in the microwave - but the boiling hot sauce had melted through the container onto Sophie's foot and hand.

The mum-of-two submerged Sophie's foot and hand in cold water - noticing huge blisters were appearing across the youngster's skin. Concerned, Emma rushed Sophie to University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff where doctors told the family they were 'lucky' the burns were not more severe.

The mixture boiling water and sugar, known as 'prison napalm', is often used as a weapon by prisoners as the deadly liquid sticks to the skin and intensifies burns, one of the principal effects of jelly-like napalm bombs. According to the National Library of Medicine, 'prison napalm' attacks will cause more severe burns than using plain water and incidents can be 'potentially devastating'.

Insurance handler Emma feels grateful her daughter was not blinded by the scorching hot liquid and is warning other parents about the viral craze. Emma said: "Sophie had seen this new trend on TikTok - all her friends were doing it.

"I'd seen it on social media, celebrities had been doing it and it looked good. I knew it was a new trend that was going around where people were glazing around. She approached me on a Friday night and asked if she could do this tanghulu trend. I said no, you're not using the oven. But she said there's this video which shows you can do it in the microwave.

"At the time my mum was calling me so I said yes you can do it in the microwave, just be careful. I didn't understand the actual context of it and I do feel like a terrible parent.

"She'd put the sugar and the water in a plastic microwavable jug for two minutes and as she'd taken it out, the syrup had burnt through the bottom of the jug which dripped onto her hand and her foot.

"There was a trail of syrup on the floor in the kitchen. She was screaming 'burn, burn, burn' and I said 'put your hand in cold water'. Then a massive blister formed on her foot instantly.

"I grabbed a bucket and put her foot in there with cold water while running her hand under the tap. My husband came downstairs and I told him she'd done this trend with sugar water and his face just dropped.

"He said this is what they use in prisons to scar people. Her foot just ballooned. She had one big lump then little splats of burn where it had splattered on her foot. She had a blister in the palm of her hand and a big bubble on her index finger. She had calmed down but every now and then she'd had a pang of pain and break down."

After ringing 111, Emma rushed her daughter to hospital where burns specialists had to pop the multiple blisters which had appeared on Sophie's hand and foot. The family were told Sophie's injuries - which have left several scars - could've been 'a lot worse'.

Emma said: "We were told it could've been a lot worse. Because we acted so quickly and kept it under water for so long, we sort of killed off the burns. It could've easily splatted in her face and she would've had scars all over her face or been blinded. She has scars now from this.

"There's no disclaimers on social media about this challenge such as being careful of splats and making sure there's an adult with you. Kids just absorb everything from online. This could've been so much worse. I wanted to let other parents know the dangers of this. I don't want this happening to another person's child. You can't keep an eye on your kids 24/7 but just stay aware of what they're doing."

A TikTok spokesperson explained that candied fruit recipes have been on the internet for years pre-dating their platform, including on cooking shows and popular recipe platforms. They explained that making tanghulu of it is not any more dangerous than cooking any other food at a high temperature. The spokesperson emphasised that cooking and recipe videos are welcome on TikTok but stressed it was strictly a 13+ platform.

To help keep people from using the platform if they're not yet old enough, TikTok claimed they have designed a neutral, industry-standard age gate that requires people to fill in their complete date of birth rather than allowing them to select if they are under or over the age of 13.