Hole in 12-year-old girl’s stomach after eating liquid nitrogen paan at wedding reception

BENGALURU: A 12-year-old girl developed a hole in her stomach after eating a liquid nitrogen paan at a wedding reception in Bengaluru. The hole was noticed when she was taken to the hospital after complaining of severe stomach ache.

She saw the liquid nitrogen paan when she went to have food. Her parents said the girl took the paan and ate it after seeing everyone eating it. She immediately felt pain and discomfort in her stomach. When the pain became unbearable, she was immediately taken to the hospital, and realized that liquid nitrogen turned dangerous. She soon underwent a surgery. The hospital authorities informed that her condition is satisfactory.

Dishes with liquid nitrogen are often served in events like weddings, festivals and food fairs. They are especially known as smoke biscuits and smoke ice-cream. Health experts have already warned that consuming it can cause serious side effects in children.

Several cases of health problems after consuming food containing liquid nitrogen have been reported in different parts of the country. In 2017, a man in Gurugram suffered severe stomach burns after drinking a cocktail laced with liquid nitrogen.

What is liquid nitrogen?
It was developed by a London-based company to increase the quality and life of food. As nitrogen expands about 700 times when it evaporates, it eliminates the oxygen inside the food packet and keeps the food fresher for longer.

This technology is used when packing coffee, potato chips, peanuts, roasted peanuts, cheese, and fried potatoes. This liquid nitrogen is used in roadside eateries to attract customers. Industrialists extract liquid nitrogen from the atmosphere. Only one liter of liquid nitrogen can be made from 700 liters of nitrogen in gaseous form.

What are the health problems?
Liquid nitrogen, if it comes in contact with any part of the body, can cause that part to decompose. They are found in the form of snow. But when eaten, lips, tongue, throat, lungs, stomach and other parts are at risk. They cause holes in the stomach. When these enter the body, carbon dioxide is produced and the person becomes unconscious.