<P> In 2012, Procter & Gamble relaunched a liquid tablet product as Tide Pods . In late 2017, Internet memes centered around the concept of eating Tide's laundry detergent pods were popularized on Twitter . One company began making edible replica "pods". These memes have actually led to people eating pods on camera . Ingestion of pods can cause death in some cases . </P> <P> Concern has been raised over children accidentally being exposed to laundry packs, as its appearance and the packaging design can have the same appeal to a child as hard candy with patterned designs, and be confused as such . </P> <P> In 2012, in response to a child swallowing Tide Pods, Procter & Gamble said they would make this product more difficult to open by adding a double latch to the lid, and has also re-focused their advertising to make clear the product should be out of a child's reach at all times . The packaging was also changed to an opaque orange rather than the original clear plastic gumball machine - type presentation to make them look less enticing; other manufacturers followed suit with equivalent packaging changes . In 2013, Consumer Reports stated that there had been nearly 7,700 reported incidents in which children age 5 or younger had been exposed to laundry pacs, and that year, one child from Florida died after ingesting a pac . In 2014, a study published in Pediatrics found that from 2012 to 2013, more than 17,000 calls were made to poison control centers about children who had been exposed to the pacs . Despite the industry's move toward safer packaging, a 2017 study published in JAMA Ophthalmology found that between 2012 and 2015, the number of chemical eye burns associated with laundry detergent pods among 3 - to 4 - year - old children skyrocketed from fewer than 20 to almost 500 per year; in 2015, these injuries were responsible for 26% of all chemical eye burns among this population . </P> <P> Beginning in late 2017 a viral Internet trend, called the "Tide Pod Challenge" emerged, in which participants intentionally ingest detergent pods . Several children and teens have been injured, some severely, from this intentional consumption . </P>

Where does the plastic go on tide pods