Britain Freezes Sales of Breast Milk Ice Cream

British officials have stopped a London ice cream parlor from selling a frozen dairy treat made from human breast milk amid concerns that the unusual dessert may not be safe.

The Icecreamists parlor introduced the "Baby Gaga" flavor Feb. 25. The flavor's creator told told AOL Weird News that the ice cream was as much food for thought as actual food.

"Some people are turned off by the idea, but, really, it raises the philosophical question: Is it better if we use milk from cows injected with hormones who are artificially induced with pregnancy every few months, or human milk?" Matt O'Connor said.

Taylor Herring

A London ice cream parlor that has been serving a new flavor, Baby Gaga, made with human breast milk, has discovered its assets are being frozen.

The Westminster City Council confiscated the titillating ice cream because of two complaints from the public over whether a shop should be selling edibles made from other people's bodily fluids and is awaiting guidance from Britain's Food Standards Agency, according to The Associated Press.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with council policy.

The official said the ice cream, marketed as Baby Gaga and launched last week, is being tested with the full cooperation of The Icecreamists, the parlor marketing the dessert.

Although viruses, including hepatitis, can be passed on through breast milk, O'Connor insists all the human donors -- 15 in all -- went through the same health checks as those used by the National Health Service to screen blood donors.

In addition, all the milk is pasteurized before being mixed with cream from cows as well as Madagascan vanilla and lemon zest.

And while O'Connor is cooperating with the authorities, he points out that his product is not breaking any laws.

"As far as we are aware, there is no law prohibiting a business from selling breast milk ice cream," O'Connor said in a statement.

Until the frozen assets were frozen, O'Connor and crew were selling each serving of Baby Gaga for around $22 U.S., and he compared the experience -- and the price -- to that of gourmet cheese.

"The taste varies enormously, based on how long a woman has been lactating and her diet in general. Its viscosity is more watery than cow's milk, and it's sweeter," he said.

Sponsored Links

To get the milk to make the dessert, O'Connor was paying lactating moms around $1.61 U.S. for each fluid ounce of milk, a price that made moms like Victoria Hiley, a 35-year-old from Leeds who works with women who have problems breast-feeding, very motivated to produce.

"What's the harm in using my assets for a bit of extra cash?" Hiley rhetorically asked the British newspaper Metro. "There's nothing more natural than fresh mother's milk."

Despite fears that Baby Gaga isn't safe, O'Connor believes it's actually more safe than ice cream made from cows.

"People who are lactose intolerant have tried it and had no problems with it," he said.