Authorities confiscate breast milk ice cream

LONDON - Local government officials said Monday they have confiscated ice cream made with human breast milk from a London shop amid concerns the dessert is unsafe.

A spokeswoman from Westminster City Council said it was responding to two complaints from the public over whether a shop should be selling edibles made from other people's bodily fluids and awaiting guidance from Britain's Food Standards Agency. 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.

Viruses, including hepatitis, can be passed on through breast milk.

The company has said that the milk was screened in line with blood donor requirements before being pasteurized and churned together with vanilla pods and lemon zest. The dish comes in a martini glass and sells for 14 pounds ($22.50) each.

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

The company paid women who responded to an online ad to donate their breast milk and said all of its products meet the "highest and safest" of food standards.

The company said it has had a "huge response" to its "fresh take" on the world of ice cream. The Icecreamists said at the time that its "Baby Gaga" ice cream sold out as soon as it launched on Friday, but that women had signed up to donate more milk.