These days we’re more connected than ever, thanks in large part to social media. However a recent trend to hit TikTok has left many Australians shocked.

In the video US-based TikTok users can be seen squashing slices of bread into a ball, and within minutes it returns to its original pristine form. This has been attributed to the large amount of additives found in the bread.

According to news.com.au Australian users flooded the comments, with many expressing their horror.

“I’m Australian. I accidentally placed a box of tissues on my bread when leaving the grocery store and arrived home to a packet of pita bread,” one person wrote.

“In Australia, when you put the bread in the shopping bag at the checkout, it always goes on top because once it’s squished, it’s forever squished,” wrote another.

However some US TikTok users shared alternative stories, including one woman who shared she had found bread that had failed to develop any mould after eights months.

The video has also led people to question just what is in American bread.

In France laws dictate that traditional bread such as the baguette can only be made with four ingredients: wheat flour, water, yeast or sourdough, and salt. When it comes to commercial bread loaves, many countries including Australia have imposed strict bans on food additives like Azodicarbonamide, Potassium Bromate and iodate, all of which have been linked to cancer and asthma. However, the US has refused to follow suit. Azodicarbonamide is a whitening and dough conditioner that’s also famously found in yoga mats.

When it comes to wheat, in the US it isn’t genetically modified but the majority of non-organic crops are sprayed with glyphosate to help dry out grain for earlier harvesting. According the news.com.au in 2020 global pharmaceutical giant Bayer paid out US$10.9 billion to settle more than 90,000 lawsuits alleging the company’s glyphosate weedkiller, Roundup, causes cancer. In the same year an Irish court ruled the bread served at sandwich chain Subway can’t be defined as bread. Instead it’s classed as confectionery due to its high sugar content.

The larger question has also been raised in light of the TikTok videos that although some people may welcome longer shelf lives, others are now questioning just what they are eating.