The Netherlands Just Invented Ice Cream That’s Also a Painkiller
The Netherlands just trended for what is likely the most absurd “medical breakthrough” of the year. A photo of a frozen dessert labeled “Paracetamol 500 MG” spread quickly online. People wondered if it was a genuine Dutch invention to combine medicine with dessert.
The image looked believable enough to fool casual viewers, but the story behind it turned out to be far simpler. It was not a new product or a medical experiment. It came from a much older, lighthearted source that had nothing to do with pharmacies or futuristic food trends.
A Carnival Creation, Not a Store Shelf Star
The ice cream in the photo came from a small Dutch patisserie called Maddy’s, run by Jan Nagelkerke. He made it for a carnival in 2016 as a one-time joke meant to get attention. The shop prepared a single six-liter batch that included a small amount of lemon flavor and about twenty crushed paracetamol tablets. It stayed in the display case as a playful exhibit, and the staff tried it out of curiosity. It was never offered to customers or sold in the shop.
Why Health Authorities Stepped In
Shortly after the display went up, legitimate concerns surfaced about mixing medicine into food. After consultations with Dutch health authorities, the ice cream was removed from view. The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority later clarified that any food containing an active pharmaceutical ingredient such as paracetamol would require official authorization.
A food item containing a measurable amount of paracetamol would be treated like a medicine and fall under pharmaceutical rules. Even if the dose were very small, it would still count as a new type of food that requires approval from the European Commission. This makes it impossible for a paracetamol-flavored dessert to be sold in a regular shop freezer, no matter how harmless or clever the idea seems.
Why It Keeps Coming Back Online
Image via Getty Images/Wavebreakmedia
Although the original stunt occurred in 2016, the image refuses to fade away. It resurfaced widely in 2018, then again in late 2024, and now it’s making the rounds once more in 2025. Each time it reappears, it is presented as a brand-new Dutch invention.
Despite the fun headlines, the Netherlands did not invent a painkilling ice cream for the public. What the country did provide was a brilliant example of how one playful act can confuse, entertain, and fascinate people years later.