Food is hard to come by in communist Cuba, and when it is available, it can blow up in your face, literally. Exploding croquettes distributed by the Castro dictatorship through its state-owned stores have injured several people in the past (see HERE, HERE, and HERE) and caused severe burns when they suddenly explode while being fried. This week, an exploding croquette claimed another victim.
Via CiberCuba (my translation):
Another Cuban is a victim of the so-called exploding croquettes
Journalist Bertico San Luis Hernández Hernández suffered severe injuries to his face while frying the controversial explosive croquettes sold by the Cuban regime’s food industry.
The incident occurred on November 12 when the writer was frying some croquettes, and one of them exploded in his face.
The man was taken to the hospital with burns on his face and cornea. According to doctors, it will take several days for him to recover his vision due to inflammation in his eyes.
Several people have supported Hernández’s recovery with medication, as reported on Facebook by Ramon Alvarez.
“Folks, the matter of the revolutionary croquettes and creative resistance is not a game. Look at what it has done to our beloved journalist of the people. Today the doctor saw him and treated him. We’re still going to miss his posts because they cleaned him up and removed the damaged tissue, but he still can’t see because things appear blurry to him, and they bandaged him up again,” explained Elba L Leon in another post.
“The doctor says that in the coming days, God willing, his vision will start to recover; he has very inflamed and damaged corneas. Thanks to the people who provided the funds so that he could start the treatments and prevent having to scrape his face. He sends his regards and advises everyone to be careful with the explosive ones—those who understand, understand,” she joked in her post.
The so-called explosive croquettes have already claimed dozens of victims in Cuba. Many of them have accused the company Prodal, which produces them, of negligence and have demanded to publish the recipe’s content or determine why they explode.
However, Prodal has blamed consumers for causing these explosions due to “common mistakes” when cooking them.
Among the recommendations from the entity to avoid accidents is heating the oil to 180 degrees, frying the croquette when it’s at room temperature, and not moving them too much.
However, Cubans believe that the product contains some dangerous ingredient because there have been cases of croquettes exploding even after frying them, when they’re already served on the plate.
The company did not apologize to the victims, did not commit to improving the recipe, and amid the food shortage on the island, its inhabitants have no choice but to continue risking their health by consuming this food.