A Dutch Bakery Made Ice Cream With Paracetamol and the Internet Still Can't Let It Go

The Idea Behind the Ice Cream

The story starts with a patisserie called Maddy's in the Dutch town of Oudenbosch. Ahead of the local carnival in February 2016, owner Jan Nagelkerke had what he described as a joke: ice cream made with paracetamol tablets and a splash of lemon juice, marketed as the ultimate hangover cure. He posted it on Facebook with a caption explaining it was display-only and not for sale, just a bit of fun ahead of five days of carnival celebrations.

Nagelkerke told Dutch news outlet BN DeStem confirmed that ice cream containing paracetamol could not legally be sold. Depending on the dosage, it would require either special medical authorization or approval from the European Commission as a novel food. The ice cream was never sold.

A Story That Keeps Going Viral

That should have been the end of it. But the photo, showing a tub of white gelato with a box of Paracetamol HTP 500mg tablets propped on top, was too good not to share. It resurfaced in 2018, then again in 2019, and has been circulating on social media ever since. As recently as yesterday, accounts on Instagram and X were posting it as if it were current news, racking up thousands of likes.

Screenshot from X, March 20

X's own Community Notes feature flagged the posts, confirming that the ice cream was never actually sold and pointing readers back to the original 2016 story.

Screenshot from X, March 20

Part of the appeal is obvious. The image is genuinely funny. A scoop of ice cream as a headache cure is the kind of idea that feels ridiculous and almost believable at the same time. One commenter put it perfectly: “Best way to get rid of a headache is by eating ice cream.” Another said it finally gave them a valid excuse to eat ice cream every day. Nobody really wanted to let it go.

And maybe that’s why it stuck. There’s something almost poetic about a joke that keeps fooling people nearly a decade later. Nagelkerke made the ice cream to give carnival-goers a laugh. Instead, he accidentally created one of the internet’s most persistent food myths. The photos are real, the bakery is real, the paracetamol was real. The part about buying it, though, never was.

If you ever find yourself in Oudenbosch, Maddy’s is still there. Just don’t expect the hangover special on the menu.

Frequently Asked Questions: Netherlands Paracetamol Ice Cream

Was paracetamol ice cream actually sold in the Netherlands?

No. The ice cream was made as a one-time carnival display by a Dutch bakery in 2016 and was never offered for sale to the public.

Who made the paracetamol ice cream?

It was made by Jan Nagelkerke, owner of Maddy's patisserie in Oudenbosch, Netherlands.

Why was the ice cream made?

It was a joke intended for the local carnival, marketed tongue-in-cheek as a hangover cure. The bakery's Facebook post explicitly stated it was display-only.

Was the ice cream ever eaten?

Nagelkerke said only the people who made it tasted it, and he threw the rest away. He described it as not one of his best creations.

Why did health authorities get involved?

After seeing public reaction to the Facebook post, Nagelkerke consulted the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, which confirmed that selling food containing paracetamol is illegal without regulatory approval.

Why does this story keep going viral?

The photo is compelling and the concept is genuinely funny. It has resurfaced repeatedly since 2016, most recently in late 2025, often shared without the context that the ice cream was never actually sold.

Is it legal to put paracetamol in food?

Not without regulatory approval. The NVWA confirmed that depending on the dosage, such a product would require either medical authorization or European Commission approval as a novel food.

Could something like this ever be legally sold?

Theoretically, with the right approvals and dosage controls, functional food products containing medications can exist. But it would require extensive regulatory vetting, and a carnival ice cream is nowhere close to that standard.