Reese Witherspoon sparks debate: Can you eat snow?

Reese Witherspoon has sparked a heated discussion over whether it is safe to eat snow after posting a video of herself cooking a “Snow Salt Chococinno” on Friday.

“Oh my gosh, it’s so good,” she raved on TikTok after scooping snow off her covered grill and adding salted caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, and cold-brewed coffee.

Witherspoon, 47, responded to the outpouring of concern by posting three TikToks to address it. To address the “dirty” snow allegations, she first microwaved it to generate pure water.

“So, we’re kind of in the category of, ‘you only live once,’ and it snows maybe once a year here,” Witherspoon said in the second follow-up video. “I do not know. Also, I would want to express

The Academy Award winner also stated that she did not drink filtered water as a child growing up in the South and does not know “how to filter the snow.”

Witherspoon’s series on the advantages and drawbacks of eating snow comes as snowfall dishes are trending on social media, with 183,900 TikTok views for #snowtreats ranging from ice cream to maple taffy.

Scientists have long debated whether it is safe to consume snow.

A research released in 2016 discovered that snow in metropolitan areas may collect the same harmful chemicals present in automobile exhaust.

“Snowflakes are ice particles with various types of surfaces, including several active sites, that can absorb various gaseous or particulate pollutants,” research author Dr. Parisa Ariya said to HuffPost at the time.

“As a mother who is an atmospheric physical chemist, I definitely do not suggest my young kids to eat snow in urban areas in general,” she added before proceeding to say, “I do not wish to be alarmist.”

In 2017, Romanian researchers discovered that extremely fresh snow has very little germs, so dive in before it’s two days old – and restrict your consumption.

“I am not advising that anyone consume snow. “Just saying you won’t get ill if you eat a little,” research author Istvan Mathe told The Associated Press at the time.

For those who do indulge, experts advised avoiding yellow snow and plowed snow, which may include sand and chemicals.

Staci Simonich, an environmental scientist who discovered considerable pesticide levels in high-elevation snow in certain US national parks during her studies, told NPR in 2016 that she “would not hesitate for my children to have the joy of eating a handful of fresh fallen snow from my backyard.”

She went on to explain: “The pesticide concentrations are low and the amount of snow eaten in a handful is small, so the one-time dose is very low and not a risk to health.”