In a consumer update the agency released on Thursday 15 September, the FDA mentioned the unusual trend as an example of over-the-counter drug misuse.

"A recent social media video challenge encourages people to cook chicken in NyQuil (acetaminophen, dextromethorphan, and doxylamine) or another similar OTC cough and cold medication, presumably to eat," the FDA wrote. "The challenge sounds silly and unappetising — and it is."

Fox News Digital reached out to NyQuil’s parent company Procter & Gamble for comment.

Questionable flavouring aside, the FDA warned that cooking cold medicine could be an unsafe thing to do.

"Boiling a medication can make it much more concentrated and change its properties in other ways," the FDA wrote in its release.

The agency noted that even when Sleepy Chicken concoctions aren't ingested, people can put themselves at risk when they inhale the vapors from cooked cold medication.

"[It] could cause high levels of the drugs to enter your body," the FDA wrote. "It could also hurt your lungs."

The FDA continued, "Put simply: Someone could take a dangerously high amount of the cough and cold medicine without even realising it."

The #SleepyChicken hashtag on TikTok has 1.2 million views and it has been tagged with trending reaction videos where users share their thoughts on the medicine-cooked dish – many of which have expressed shock and disgust.

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