A man has been burnt by a deep-fried chicken snack after the food item exploded as he bit into it.
The bizarre snack-related incident was captured on CCTV inside a cafe in the city of Curitiba, southern Brazil.
In the footage a waitress hands a customer a coxinha, a Brazilian deep-fried chicken croquette, before she leaves the man unattended by the bar.
As the man gets ready to tuck into his tasty treat, far from love at first bite, the coxinha suddenly explodes squirting its hot insides all over the man and the surrounding area.
Meanwhile, the heat from the croquette is visible from stream rising to the ceiling.
The shop’s owner Christian de Souza Amaral – who witnesses the erupting snack – stands open-mouthed in shock as the dazed customer tries to wipe the burning filling from his face.
Mr Amaral then leaves seemingly to get help leaving the man to deal with his strange predicament.
It later emerged that the customer, not named in local media, had been treated for burns to his mouth.
The bizarre snack-related incident was captured on CCTV inside a cafe in the city of Curitiba, southern Brazil
As the man gets ready to tuck into his tasty treat it suddenly explodes squirting its hot insides all over the man and the surrounding area – with the heat from the croquette visible from stream rising to the ceiling
Mr Amaral explained: ‘It went off with a sound like a tyre bursting. I was in shock watching the filling sticking to his face. It looked like a bomb.’
He added: ‘We had already fried the coxinha and placed it in the display case. This guy was already there, he was a customer, and he said, ‘The coxinha looks nice, doesn’t it?’ and asked for one.
‘It had only come out of the fryer about five minutes earlier when we handed it to him.’
Bar staff gave the customer emergency first aid but recommended he go to hospital.
It is unclear, though, why the snack exploded so violently.
Bioscience expert Dr Laura Marise explained that if not handled properly, air can build up in a Coxinha and burst under pressure.
She told local media: ‘Air can get trapped between the dough and the filling and, during the frying, it may have expanded, but not enough to break through the dough.
‘But when it was bitten, the coxinha must have released all that pressure suddenly, which caused the explosion.’
The shop’s owner Christian de Souza Amaral – who witnesses the erupting snack – stands open-mouthed in shock as the dazed customer tries to wipe the burning filling from his face
Coxinha – which translates to ‘little thigh’ in Portuguese, are a popular snack in Brazil consisting of shredded chicken and cheese covering in soft dough before it is deep-fried.
The savoury treat comes in a variety of sizes and can be found sold in most cafes and by street vendors.
It is widely believed to be one of the most popular fast food items in the South American nation.
Coxinha was allegedly created by a young Brazilian prince who created the poultry-filled croquette in order to resemble a chicken drumstick.