Gurugram Cafe Loses Licence After "Dry Ice" Made Customers Vomit Blood

Gurugram authorities have cancelled the licence of the Laforestta cafe, a month after five customers were allegedly served dry ice instead of mouth freshener.

The customers were seen vomiting blood and hospitalised after the incident, prompting police action against the cafe in Sector 90. The manager of the cafe was also arrested.

In the latest action, the district food safety department today cancelled its licence and barred it from getting a new licence issued under the same name.

The Laforestta incident has also triggered a crackdown by the district authorities, bringing under the radar several hotels and restaurants that have mushroomed in this IT hub over the past few years.

The food safety department says they have started a campaign to check all restaurants in the city. If any issue is found, the restaurant owners will be show-caused, and failing to provide a satisfactory answer may get their licenses cancelled.

In the incident that occurred on March 2, five people were seen throwing up blood and reporting a burning sensation in their mouths after consuming "mouth freshener" at the café. Later, it was found to be dry ice, which they had mistaken as dry ice.

All five were hospitalized following the incident while two of them were said to be critical.

Dry ice is the cooled and condensed form of the gas carbon dioxide, which can lead to cold burns and asphyxiation if consumed by accident.