Minnesota State Fair pulls offbeat menu item: doughnuts with syringes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Minnesota State Fair is dropping a new food item -- doughnut bits with a side of syringes -- a snack apparently too extreme even for an industry perpetually pushing culinary boundaries.
The move follows an outcry over The Wingwalker Donut Flight, comprising doughnut holes and three syringes for injecting Bavarian cream, chocolate custard and Minnesota lingonberry jam.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Wingwalker Donut Flight features doughnut holes with syringes. The syringes are for injecting tasty fillings. But the optics raised some strong concerns. (Minnesota State Fair)
The optics -- a lot of unnecessary plastic, and the syringes' similarity to drug paraphernalia in the midst of an opioid crisis -- simply didn't sit well with some.
"We understand the impact food packaging has on the environment, and The Hangar -- along with the fair -- has decided that plastic syringes will not be used as part of the Wingwalker Donut Flight," fair officials said in a statement to Fox News.
Jason Holtz launched the petition over the new doughnut item when he heard about the syringes, the Star Tribune reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I don’t want to see however many thousands of syringes that are used for a few seconds and then end up in the ocean or wherever they’re going to end up,” he told the paper. “And with the opioid crisis, it’s sending a bad message that tasty things come from needles.”
The doughnut holes will still be available, but will be served on a compostable tray with areas to dunk them into the fillings, the fair said. Replacing the Wingwalker snack will be The Tailspin -- fried onions and coleslaw layered with pork, corn, cheese, spices and barbecue sauce.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The fair will run from Aug 22 to Sept. 2 in St. Paul.