(WSVN) - The Food and Drug Administration is urging the public to avoid eating foods made with liquid nitrogen.
According to the FDA, consumers should avoid eating foods like Dragon’s Breath, Heaven’s Breath, or Nitro Puff at the point of sale if they were immediately made with liquid nitrogen.
Foods and drinks prepared by adding liquid nitrogen immediately before consumption may be sold in malls, food courts, kiosks, state or local fairs, and other food retail locations. These products may include liquid nitrogen-infused colorful cereal or cheese puffs that emit a misty or smoke-like vapor. Similarly, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks prepared with liquid nitrogen emit a fog.
“The FDA has become aware of severe — and in some cases, life-threatening — injuries, such as damage to skin and internal organs caused by liquid nitrogen still present in the food or drink,” the agency said.
While liquid nitrogen is non-toxic, items made with it immediately before serving can harm consumers if ingested due to the extremely low temperatures they can have.
The FDA said that inhaling the vapor released by food prepared with liquid nitrogen can also cause breathing difficulty, especially for people with asthma.
However, the agency says not all items made with liquid nitrogen are dangerous.
“In general, other foods treated with liquid nitrogen prior to the point of sale and before consumption, for example some frozen confections, are treated in such a way that results in the complete evaporation of liquid nitrogen before reaching the consumer and are no longer at an extremely low temperature, and therefore do not pose a significant risk of injury,” the advisory says.
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