Chilean Paper Must Pay for Exploding Churros
A Chilean newspaper has been ordered to pay damages to victims for injuries suffered from exploding churros.
The newspaper, La Tercera, now has to follow a court order to compensate 13 readers who followed a recipe published in the paper for the snack. The recipe caused explosions that led to burns from piping hot oil. The burns ranged from mild to severe, according to Ilovechile.cl.
Chile’s Supreme Court ruled that the injuries were inevitable for anyone who followed the published recipe. La Tercera must now pay damages totaling more than $163,000. Individual victims will receive anywhere from $279 to $48,000.
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“The explosions were so violent that in some cases, the splashes hit the ceiling and covered the person who was cooking,” the court said.
The courts also found that the oil temperature, mentioned in the recipe, was too high, causing an explosion when the mixture was put together in the pan. They stated that the recipe had not been properly tested before the publication.
“Faithfully following the recipe published in the newspaper, this damage could not have been avoided,” the courts added.
According to La Segunda Online, the court ruled unanimously that La Tercera was negligent for publishing the recipe without properly testing it.
La Tercera’s publisher, Grupo Copesa, said they will accept the ruling and pay the damages. The recipe was published in the paper’s supplement, “Mujer,” which means “Woman,” in July 2004. It resulted in the injuries of 11 women and two men. The victims suffered burns to their hands, arms and other body parts.
Churros are a Spanish form of a doughnut. The long strips of dough are deep-fried in hot oil, and then dipped in sugar or warm chocolate. The sweet dessert is popular in Spain and most of Latin America, although it can be found in the U.S. as well.
