Breast Milk Ice Cream Goes on Sale in UK

published by Sylvia Clare on Feb 24, 2011

A UK shop is now serving ice cream made from fresh breast milk. Fifteen women donated breast milk to help make the ice cream, which is marketed as an organic free-range treat.

A London specialty restaurant has unveiled a new concept in ice cream. The ice cream, known as Baby Gaga, is made from lemon zest, Madagascan vanilla pods and human breast milk.

Icecreamists, an ice cream parlor in London’s Coventry Garden, offers the dessert for sale at £14 (about $23 US) per serving.

Icecreamists founder Matt O’Connor, 44, says that Baby Gaga ice cream is only one of several radical new flavors offered by the restaurant. “It’s pure, organic, free-range and totally natural,” says O’Connor. He adds that “no one’s done anything interesting with ice cream in the last hundred years.”

Fifteen women donated breast milk after seeing an on online ad on the Mumsnet internet forum. The ice cream parlor pays £15 per 10 oz (about a third of a litre) of mother’s milk. Lactating women are screened using the same health checks as those used to screen blood donors.

The women donate their milk on site. The fresh breast milk undergoes pasteurization before being churned with lemon zest and Madagascar vanilla to make the ice cream.

One breast milk donor is Victoria Hiley, a 35-year-old mother from Leeds. Hiley works with new mothers who have problems breastfeeding their babies. Hiley believes that, when mothers discover how good breast milk tastes, they’ll have fewer inhibitions about breastfeeding.

In a statement, Hiley said, “What could be more natural than fresh, free-range mother’s milk in an ice cream? And for me it’s a recession beater too. What’s the harm in using my assets for a bit of extra cash?”

Human breast milk is higher in Vitamin E, iron and essential fatty acids than cow’s milk. Hiley has tried Baby Gaga ice cream, and likes it. “It’s very nice,” she says. “It really melts in the mouth.”

The specialty ice cream goes on sale Friday, February 25.

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