LONDON, March 1 (Reuters Life!) - A London council has confiscated supplies of breast milk ice cream from a specialist parlour which launched the new flavour in the British capital last week on concerns the frozen treat may spread viruses.
Westminster Council said it had visited the Icecreamists restaurant in London's Covent Garden and removed all ice cream containing breast milk for testing after being contacted by members of the public and the Food Standards Agency.
"Selling foodstuffs made from another person's bodily fluids can lead to viruses being passed on and in this case, potentially hepatitis," Brian Connell, Westminster Council's cabinet member for business, said on Tuesday.
He added that the owner had agreed to cease making and serving the ice cream while it was being tested.
Matt O'Connor, founder of the restaurant where the "Baby Gaga" ice cream made from breast milk, Madagascan vanilla pods and lemon zest was launched on Friday, dismissed the concerns, saying they were "complete rubbish".
He said the breast milk -- provided by women who responded to an advert on an online mothers' forum -- had undergone the same "scrupulous" screening procedures as the milk, blood and sperm found in donation banks.
"If the ice cream is not safe, then these mothers pose a serious risk to their babies," he told Reuters on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Michelle Martin, editing by Paul Caciato)
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