Watch Out For These Dangerous Desserts During Your Travels

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration released a warning about the dangers of eating or drinking foods prepared with liquid nitrogen immediately before consumption. In a world where people often seek out bizarre, specialty foods on their travels, it’s an alert that is especially important for adventurous epicures.According to the FDA, novelty snacks and drinks such as so-called “nitro puffs” or “Dragon’s Breath” — a trendy dessert item found from state fairs in Florida to ice cream shops in Brooklyn — can cause life-threatening conditions. Like Dragon’s Breath, cocktails that smolder and ice cream prepared to order get their appeal from their theatrics.

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Happy monday and have some Dragons Breath.#subzeroicecream#liquidnitrogen#dragonsbreath#clackamastowncenter#washingtonsq#glutenfree#vegan A post shared by Subzero Icecream & Yogurt (@subzeroicecream_pdx) on Oct 23, 2017 at 3:03pm PDT

Liquid nitrogen isn’t toxic, but it is freezing cold — as low as 320 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. As a result, consuming products made with liquid nitrogen “can cause severe damage to skin and internal organs … [and] inhaling the vapor … may also cause breathing difficulty, especially among individuals with asthma,” according to the FDA.Last summer, a man in Delhi downed a smoking cocktail made with liquid nitrogen, and burned a hole through his stomach. A few months later, a 14-year-old girl was badly burned by a cup of Dragon’s Breath in Florida. These innovative treats are entertaining (and, let’s be honest, perfect for Instagram). But there are serious risks when consuming them before the liquid nitrogen has fully evaporated.

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Milk’ee is stealing all the attention ✨ #720sweets #720sweetsab . . . . . #yegfood #yeg #edmonton #foodstagram #smokingicecream #edmontonliving #edmontonfood #exploreedmonton #canada #gastropost #yegeats #icecream #yegdesserts #yegsweets #foodporn #edmontoneats #yeglife #yegbiz #yeglocal #dessert #yegbusiness #food #milktea #summer #narcitycanada #eat #yummy A post shared by 720 Sweets WEM (@720sweetsab) on Aug 28, 2018 at 7:45pm PDT

Products prepared with liquid nitrogen aren’t inherently dangerous. After all, it’s commonly used to flash freeze a number of items you’d pick up in the frozen foods section of your local supermarket. But eating (or drinking them) right after they’ve been doused with liquid nitrogen is risky at best.If you’re interested in sampling anything prepared on the spot with liquid nitrogen, be sure to wait until it has evaporated completely before consuming. Never touch the liquid nitrogen directly (if you’re trying the infamous nitro puffs, for example, use a fork or toothpick) and in general, use caution. Even after the liquid nitrogen has evaporated, foods served immediately after its use can still be unsafe, the FDA explained, “due to the extremely low temperature.”

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Happy monday and have some Dragons Breath.#subzeroicecream#liquidnitrogen#dragonsbreath#clackamastowncenter#washingtonsq#glutenfree#vegan

A post shared by Subzero Icecream & Yogurt (@subzeroicecream_pdx) on Oct 23, 2017 at 3:03pm PDT

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A post shared by 720 Sweets WEM (@720sweetsab) on Aug 28, 2018 at 7:45pm PDT