Now, Dragon's Breath leaves BBMP fuming!

Bengaluru: Even as the IT City battles the Kiki challenge, a new craze tends to turn the health of city residents topsy-turvy, leaving city administrators a worried lot.

The ‘Dragon Breath’ as it is called, involves eating a candy dipped in liquid nitrogen which results in a smoky effect, allowing those consuming it to smoke like dragons through the mouth and nose. Videos of people trying the frozen dessert with smoke coming out of their nose and mouth have started doing the rounds on social media platforms with health experts warning of the hazards if it is not done properly.

Chief  Health Officer of BBMP, Dr Manoranjan Hegde, said that a study would be conducted on the health implications of this dessert after which action will be taken against vendors selling them within 15 days.

Dragon’s Breath is a food innovation made by freezing cereal puffs in liquid nitrogen or by making ice cream from it. When the frozen snack or ice cream is chewed, the cold condenses moisture in the consumer’s exhaled breath and makes it appear like he is breathing out smoke. The trend has gained popularity globally as well as locally through ice creams and cocktails.

“Instead of making ice creams the traditional way, it can be made rapidly by exposing it to liquid nitrogen. The foggy and misty appearance looks exciting to people,” said Dr Naresh Bhat, Chief Of Gastroenterology, Aster CMI Hospital , Bengaluru.

‘Liquid nitrogen rapidly cools whatever it comes in contact with and is used in medical practice to destroy tissues. When it directly comes in contact with tissues or is consumed in the liquid state, it can cause damage,” he added. Karthigai Selvi, Chief Dietician, BGS Gleneagles Global Hospitals, said, “Dragon Breath tastes like fruit loops dipped in liquid nitrogen. It smokes like a dragon when you eat it. While the dessert sounds cool, the liquid nitrogen used can be as cold as minus 320 degrees. It is usually used by dermatologists for a variety of cosmetic purposes. Nowadays, it is used in ice creams, food and cocktails. If one swallows Dragon’s Breath, it can cause rapid and significant damage to the skin and body. It can even create a hole in the stomach and tissues.” A vendor from the city who sells liquid nitrogen based ice creams and Dragon Breath said, “If it is consumed directly or is not in the right proportion it is definitely a health hazard but if it properly used after freezing the ice cream, it is not harmful as it evaporates.”