Dragon's Breath dessert unfit for consumption, Suffolk board rules

A supercold frozen dessert called Dragon’s Breath will no longer be available in Suffolk County, health officials said.

The Suffolk County Board of Health voted Wednesday to rule the food unfit for human consumption and ban its sale. County Executive Steve Bellone also directed health officials to prevent businesses from serving the treat.

The food consists of cereal puffs or similar substances frozen with liquid nitrogen, and it gives off a puff that looks like smoke when the person eating it exhales.

It has become a fad with young people and the subject of internet videos, but it can also cause severe damage to the mouth, throat and stomach, health officials say.

The Health Department vote “will prevent dangerous chemicals from winding up in the hands of children in Suffolk County,” Bellone said in a news release Thursday. “We will not tolerate any establishment that seeks to peddle this poison and profit off of these actions in violation of our health code.”  

He said anyone who knows of the product being used should notify the Department of Health Services at  631-852-5999.

Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. James Tomarken said the addition of liquid nitrogen has "a significant potential to cause serious injury."

Nassau County said in June that it was not allowing restaurants to serve the food fad.

Other county health officials statewide have raised concerns with the state Department of Health, Suffolk officials said.