On June 3, BBC exposed TikTok Shop selling users food items without adding allergen data, putting UK consumers at risk, which opened eyes on the significant influence of social media food marketing on people’s choices and consuming in products.
According to UK law, most vendors neglect valuable ingredient details, rendering online purchases unsafe. With increasingly more individuals purchasing and selling food on TikTok, the lack of explicit allergy labeling on the platform has triggered warnings from experts.
The rise in TikTok shop food sales demonstrates the level at which food marketing on social media has become influential, but this is at the expense of consumer protection concerns.
TikTok is not only for content videos, but also for social media and food trends, and in the UK, food businesses are required under law to declare the presence of any of the 14 major allergens clearly.
For example, a vendor sold a Squid Game-themed candy but described the ingredients and allergens as “not applicable,” while a second vendor sold a burger kit containing milk and wheat but described just “spices” and “flour” without adding vital allergen information. After the BBC’s complaints, TikTok removed the listed flags, and claimed back its commitment towards safer and trustworthy social media food marketing.
“We have policies and processes in place with our sellers to ensure the safety of food and beverages sold on our platform and we will remove products that breach these policies,” a TikTok spokesperson said.
How Does Social Media Influence Food Choices?
Social media fod influencers and trends shape what individuals consume, and such content creators’ market TikTok foods, impacting the choices of buyers quickly.
A creative food social media post engages people and gets them to experiment with new foods, but withholding safety details is dangerous. Therefore, the BBC report suggests that food promotions on social media must include clear guidelines to protect consumers, especially allergic people.
“It’s completely unacceptable and really worrying. Failing to provide ingredient information is potentially very dangerous, and it feels like a complete disregard for the safety of those living with food allergies,” declared Kate Lancaster who manages The Dairy Free Mum TikTok handle and has children with milk allergies.
Additionally, Tanya Ednan-Laperouse began The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation when her daughter passed away from an allergic reaction to TikTok food products with warning labels removed.
“TikTok needs to be held accountable for making sure all their UK food retailers comply with legislative standards to sell food products on their platform. Any that fail to do so should be removed straight away,” Tanya said.
Final Thoughts
As the influence of social media food marketing grows, so does the risk of user blindness in trusting what they see online without checking important details like allergen information. The impulsive actions of people while using social media platforms and AI tools are exceeding their limits with time, putting them lives at risk.
This highlights the urgent need for AI media literacy tools as the percentage of food consumption influenced by social media is increasing. We are still not at a point where technology can be fully trusted, without proper safeguards, AI has the power to manipulate and brainwash minds without people even realizing it.
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