Kids in Indonesia get burns from snack frozen by liquid nitrogen

At least 9 cases across the nation in 2022, including 4-year-old with stomach tear

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government is urging parents to be more vigilant and has ordered local health agencies to increase their monitoring of food establishments, particularly after multiple children throughout the country had stomach burns from a street snack that was frozen by liquid nitrogen.

The snack in question, known locally as chiki ngebul, is named after a popular Indonesian brand of packaged snacks and has taken social media by storm in recent months. Children have recorded themselves eating the snack with smoke from the liquid nitrogen coming out of their mouths.

Speaking to the press last Thursday, the Health Ministry's director for environmental health Anas Ma'ruf said there had been at least nine confirmed incidents due to the snack in 2022.

"From the data that we have collected, (the issues from the snack) only happened in 2022. We cross-checked (our data) from 2021, 2020 and 2019 and there were no reports of it," Dr Anas said.

The country's first known medical case concerning the snack was reported in East Java's Ponorogo regency in July 2022. It involved freeze burns on a child's skin after the child had consumed the snack.